When the Ground Shakes
by Naisa
Summary: An earthquake has struck Camelot. The walls of the castle crumble as the people inside fight for survival, but what will be the true costs of this disaster, and who are among the missing? Set in series 2, slight AU, Arwen and suggested Mergana. Complete!
1. Another Normal Day

_I thought up of this story last week when I saw the terrible things that have been happening in Japan, I started writing it and decided to post it. _

_Therefore, this story is dedicated to all the people in Japan who have been affected by the earthquake and the tsunami. Remember that you are not alone, the whole world is thinking of you and I hope that if you know anyone out there, they are safe._

_As you've probably guessed, this story about an earthquake that hits Camelot. If you don't want to relate this to the Japanese earthquake, you don't have to; you can see it as just another Merlin fanfic story (:_

_Reviews are much appreciated, it may be a while before I put up the next chapter, but if I get enough reviews I may try and update sooner…_

_Thanks! (:_

Chapter 1 – Another Normal Day

It was another normal day in Camelot. The only thing unusual about it, was that instead of chilly winds and cloudy skies, the air was warm, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. It was a perfect, beautiful morning.

By the end of the day, things would have taken a drastic turn.

When the ground shakes, everything will change.

XXX

Morgana stared out of her chamber window, a small frown on her smooth, pale face as she waited patiently for Gwen to finish doing the fastenings on her new dress. It was a turquoise colour, trailing down to her feet, low cut at the top (but not by too much) and there were gold sequins around the hem. It was beautifully made and felt so comfortable, Morgana could see it as becoming one of her favourites already. But there was something on her mind that was preventing her excitement usually felt when she got a new dress.

It didn't take long for Gwen to notice Morgana's unusual silence and frown.

"Is everything all right my lady?" She asked, Morgana could hear the concern in her voice, and knew that if she could see her maid's face, it would be filled with worry too.

Morgana nodded and tried to smile, but she found it difficult. There were so many things going round in her head usually; her mysterious powers that she couldn't control, what her new friend and sister Morgause was up to and when she'd see her again, or what the tyrant of a King might be doing to his Kingdom today. But this morning it was something else bothering her.

Once again, it didn't take Gwen very long to notice and work out what was on her mind.

"Nightmares again?"

Morgana's eyes narrowed, "I don't know," she confessed.

It seemed like a pretty stupid thing to say, but Morgana had had a dream that very night, only she didn't know if it was a nightmare and she wasn't sure what the dream was trying to tell her.

All she could remember from her dream were imposing trees all around, towering before her. She seemed far away from Camelot, and there was an odd feeling of change, or realisation, or…something. The point was, whatever the feeling was, it wasn't a good one.

Gwen finished the fastenings on Morgana's dress in silence. She could see that her lady was concerned about something and deep in thought, but if Morgana didn't want to talk about it, she wasn't going to talk about it. If Gwen was honest, she had been feeling worried too recently. She could see that her mistress and her friend was changing, she was keeping more secrets and there were more things on her mind, and she didn't like what Morgana might be changing into.

Despite this, Gwen smiled her kind and friendly smile, and said nothing more on the subject.

XXX

"Come on Merlin, we haven't got all day!"

Merlin rolled his eyes as the mocking tone of Arthur floated across the grounds of the Castle. It was all right for Arthur, he probably liked doing his training, and he didn't have to carry everything. Meanwhile Merlin hated it, and the fact that he had to stumble around all morning carrying swords, a mace, a helmet, armour and a shield, wasn't helping to improve his opinion of it.

But there was something else that was making him feel uneasy that day, he just wasn't sure why.

Merlin's thoughts were distracted however, when he heard Arthur shouting at him again.

"Hurry up Merlin!"

"Sorry!" Merlin grumbled, hurrying to catch up with Arthur, dropping the helmet on the way and having to run back to pick it up. Even Arthur noticed Merlin's unusual amount of clumsiness, as his manservant finally caught up with him and promptly almost dropped a mace on his foot.

Arthur raised a blond eyebrow, "are you all right?" He asked, trying not to laugh at Merlin's clumsiness and not to sound as concerned as he actually was, both at the same time.

"I'm fine," Merlin lied, "just feeling tired that's all." This was true, and it was easy to tell by the dark rings under his eyes. "I was up all night," Merlin continued casually, bending down to pick up the fallen mace, "I—"

Arthur threw his hands up suddenly before Merlin could finish. "Woah, Merlin, if this is about you getting food poisoning again I really don't want to hear about it!" The young Prince told him, but his tone was still light-hearted.

Merlin couldn't help but laugh at this, despite the thoughts plaguing his mind. "No it's not that, there was just a lot of noise last night that kept me awake," he tried to explain, feeling for some reason foolish as he did so.

"Noise?" Arthur repeated, raising his eye brow again, "what sort of noise?" He didn't remember hearing anything.

"Dogs," Merlin told him, "not just the King's hunting dogs either, but dogs from all around, barking through the night. It was as if there was something invisible around that was scaring them."

There had always been stories that dogs could sense more than humans. It was said they could sense when danger was near or when something strange was about to happen, so this news was a little concerning for Arthur. But at the same time, he had heard nothing; he had slept through the night, oblivious to any disturbances in the world. Besides, if there was something bad going on within Camelot, surely people would know about it as well as the dogs?

He shook his head, as if dismissing Merlin's excuse. "You're going to have to come up with a better excuse than that next time Merlin," he told his manservant.

Merlin said nothing, he was more worried about why the dogs were so disturbed in the night than Arthur was, but even he didn't know what was about to occur that very evening.

XXX

The Great Dragon stirred in his deep prison cave; wings folded as he rested on a huge rock that emerged from the darkness. He opened his bright, golden eyes and stared out into the dimness that had been his home for so many years, too many.

It was just another normal day, sitting alone in the deep underground, beneath the castle of Camelot itself, thinking about the future of the Kingdom and the young Warlock hidden inside the walls.

But there was something else about today, something that The Great Dragon could sense, something that warned him that today was not going to be a normal day after all.

Today, might just change everything.


	2. Merlin and Morgana

_Due to some criticism of the end of this chapter (which is understandable) I've decided to update again and change it. Please tell me what you think of the improvement :)_

_There is slight Merlin/Morgana in this chapter, but it can be easily looked over if you don't like it. The chapter names don't imply slash or anything; it's just because the chapters will be focused on in those particular characters. Similar chapters will probably follow._

Chapter 2 – Merlin and Morgana

The day worked slowly on to the afternoon. Merlin wondered down the corridor, heading back from the kitchen with a decanter of wine for Arthur, who was having lunch in his chambers. Merlin had a feeling the young Prince was creating twice as much mess as he usually did that day, maybe almost dropping a mace on his foot that morning had annoyed Arthur more than Merlin had first realised.

His thoughts were distracted however, when he heard the footfalls of someone wearing high heels. Merlin could who it was before he turned around. Morgana was striding down the corridor behind him, wearing her new turquoise dress that floated out behind her. She looked stunning, but Merlin tried not to think about that.

"Hello Merlin," she said pleasantly, her feelings of worry from earlier that day were still lingering and had taken the usual cheery tone out of her voice.

"Good afternoon," Merlin mumbled, turning away from Morgana and walking quickly down the corridor.

Merlin had been trying to avoid Morgana as much as it was possible. He couldn't help but think over and over again what The Great Dragon had been telling him about Morgana, no, not telling him, warning him. Warning him that Morgana was dangerous and would destroy Camelot and how she wanted to kill the King. At first Merlin couldn't see or understand how Morgana could be such a bad person, but as time moved on, he was beginning to see a change in her. It seemed that Morgana's innocence was tinted after all, and could end Arthur's future rule.

It was a horrible thought, knowing a friend was slowly turning into an enemy, and there was nothing you could do about it. Merlin knew he had to stop Morgana from the future crimes she was going to commit, but how?

Morgana seemed to have noticed Merlin's stiffness and unwillingness to talk, as she frowned in frustration and walked a little faster to catch up with him.

"What's the matter?" She asked, having very little idea of the knowledge Merlin held about her powers and dark wishes.

Merlin shrugged, "nothing," he tried to say as pleasantly as possible, but for some reason he was finding it difficult. Every single day it was becoming more difficult.

Morgana clearly wasn't convinced, but she tried to lighten the mood a little. "Is Arthur giving you a hard time again today?"

"He's always giving me a hard time," Merlin tried to joke, but he sounded too serious.

"Are you sure you're all right Merlin?" Morgana asked.

Merlin turned his head to see the worried expression on Morgana's face; he tried to smile again. "I'm fine," he told her.

"You just seem to be a bit quiet recently," Morgana commented.

'A bit quiet' was an understatement in her opinion, Morgana thought she and Merlin were friends, but he was keeping to himself more and more, he was even avoiding her. Morgana could tell by the way that Merlin continued to try and keep a distance between her and him at this very moment, as he walked down the corridor, but she was determined to keep up.

Merlin shrugged again, "have I?"

"Yes," Morgana was feeling annoyed now, "you're not talking to me, have I done something to upset you?"

Merlin said nothing; he kept his eyes down and kept on walking.

"Merlin why won't you talk to me?" Morgana demanded, almost running to catch up with him.

Suddenly, Merlin stopped.

For a few moments silence hung in the air. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence because Merlin wasn't sure what to say and it wasn't a tense silence because Morgana was feeling angry, it was a silence in which the air itself seemed to buzz with energy. The energy didn't come from Merlin or Morgana, it came from the atmosphere all around. The whole place was alive with an invisible energy.

"Can you feel that?" Asked Merlin.

Morgana scowled, "don't try to change the subject Merlin!" She snapped, but no sooner had she spoken she began to feel it too.

A strange rumbling was coming from the stone floor; the ground seemed to shudder. At first it was nothing more than a small tremble, but as seconds past it began to build.

Merlin and Morgana stared at each other in confusion and fear, as the rumbling got worse.

The ground beneath their feet was shaking, growing more and more violent; soon it was hard to keep balance. Cracks began to appear in the stone walls and floor as both Merlin and Morgana lent against the wall just to keep upright. Merlin dropped the decanter, and red wine spilt over the floor like blood.

The noise was terrible, from all around a great rumbling could be heard, and in nearby chambers they could hear chairs clattering to the floor, pottery smashing, windows breaking. A suit of armour near by suddenly tumbled off its feet and crashed to the floor.

"What have you done!" Merlin yelled at Morgana, as the shaking became so bad even his vision blurred.

"I haven't done anything!" Morgana shouted back at him, fear replacing her anger. And Merlin knew she was telling the truth, even before she spoke.

Merlin could see the fear in Morgana's eyes, and felt a pang in his heart, but that was quickly forgotten about when he heard a horrible crack, and looked up to see a huge crack in the stone ceiling.

Dust began to trickle from the ceiling; the castle couldn't take the trembling any more. There was a terrible crunch, and then the ceiling began to collapse.

At first it was just small grey stones dropping from the ceiling, but then they grew, along with a curtain of dust. Stones the size of boulders tumbled to the floor. Morgana screamed, Merlin wasn't sure if she was hurt or just scared.

But the trembling continued.

The earth was alive, and it sought to kill them.

Confusion and fear had originally frozen Merlin to the spot; he didn't even know any magic that could possibly stop this. But now complete terror was beginning to take over, and he wanted to run. He couldn't just stand here, he would be killed, he needed to find somewhere safe.

The whole Castle felt as if it was about to collapse, Merlin could almost feel it swaying dangerously from side to side, it was becoming even harder to keep his balance. He looked up and saw that Morgana was having the same problem, but he could only just see her through the dust that hung in the air.

"What do we do?" Morgana shrieked with fear.

"We have to get out of here!" Merlin yelled over the great rumbling of the earth, "it's not safe here, we have to get out of the Castle!" He was already backing slowly out of the corridor, knowing the further away he got from the collapsed ceiling, the better, but he kep his eyes focused on Morgana.

Morgana hesitated for a few moments, as if she was too afraid to move, but then she began she make her way slowly towards him, her speed interrupted by the stones that littered her path.

But then there was another horrible crack, and a huge piece of timber fell between them. Morgana screamed again as she narrowly escaped the timber. The timber blocked the way between her and Merlin, she could hardly see Merlin over the rubble. Once again Morgana froze to the spot, unsure of what to do next.

"Run!" Merlin yelled at her, "run Morgana run!"

Morgana had no idea where she was running to, but anywhere was better than this corridor, so she turned and fled. She didn't even have time to look behind her to see if Merlin had started running too.

Running down a corridor, then another, Morgana could see that everywhere seemed to crumbling to the ground. More rocks and dust were falling from the ceiling as the ground continued to shake violently.

Something caught her foot, it felt like a fallen piece of armour, but it took Morgana completely by surprise, and she fell to the ground with a cry.

Before Morgana could pull herself back onto her feet, another piece of timber fell from the ceiling and trapped her leg. She cried out, more from surprise than from pain, as she could feel nothing.

Morgana tried in vain to pull herself up from the ground, but the piece of timber was too heavy, and rocks were still falling down. She cried out, but there was no one around to save her.

Full of despair and fear, Morgana continued to try and pull herself up from the ground, but there was nothing she could do. She was trapped.


	3. Arthur

_A busy week coming up this week, so I'm not sure when I'll next be able to update. Hope you enjoy the chapter, reviews much appreciated (:_

Chapter 3 - Arthur

Merlin pelted down the corridors, narrowly avoiding a large boulder as it crashed down from the ceiling. The floor was still shaking, and he had to focus on keeping his feet firmly on the ground, as he continuously passed walls with huge cracks running down them.

Was the whole Castle going to collapse?

He hoped that Morgana had found a way out.

There were barely any people around, was that just coincidence, or had they already managed to get out of the Castle? Only a few startled servants dashed past, trying to find somewhere safe to hide from the falling ceiling. Merlin tried to shout at them to find ways out of the Castle, but they were so panicked it seemed they didn't even notice he was there.

But Merlin knew that he couldn't just run out of the Castle, he had to go and find Arthur.

In any other circumstances, Merlin would have groaned at the thought that once more he was risking his life for the Prince, but the situation had driven all sarcasm and jokes out of his head. He had to find Arthur and get him out before it was too late. Camelot's future relied upon him; Merlin couldn't leave him to be buried.

Knowing that he would still be in his chamber, Merlin ran in that direction, grateful for that every second that passed, as the trembling of the earth seemed to lessened a little, but the walls were still shaking.

After what seemed like an age, Merlin reached Arthur's chamber. He stopped dead in the doorway, looking around.

The chamber had hardly been damaged, the bed looked like it had been dragged half way across the room by the vibrations, the chairs and tables had collapsed, the window had a huge crack down the middle, but the wall had not yet collapsed.

What was worrying Merlin however, was that the place was empty.

Arthur was missing.

XXX

As soon as the tremors had started, Arthur hadn't been rooted to the spot like Merlin or Morgana, in fact he had leapt to his feet, his mind racing.

He had no idea what was happening, the world seemed to be falling to pieces in front of his eyes. At first it was nothing but the gentles shaking of the table, the food danced across his plate and a chair clattered to the floor.

But now the whole room was shaking, dust was flaking down from the ceiling and the window cracked. A few people ran past his doorway, some of them screaming.

Arthur began to run too, he ran out his room, into the corridor, where the shaking continued and cracks were appearing everywhere. He held himself up by the wall as he thought quickly about what to do.

Another servant ran past, where would they be going? Where would be safe?

They might be heading out of the Castle, but Arthur had no intention of going. There were people in this building he knew and felt dearly for, and a lot of people would be in trouble, he had to help them, and what about his father?

Uther would be in this building somewhere, but where? Perhaps he was in the Great Hall, he spent a lot of his time there, eating or having meetings. Other people would be in there too, servants, soldiers, Morgana…Gwen.

Arthur made a quick decision, and then ran towards the Great Hall.

By this time the great rumbling that was coursing through the Castle (and little did Arthur know it, but half of the City too) had reached its height. Arthur found himself continuously slamming into walls, as the great shaking made him loose his balance. He kept running, faster and faster, as all around him the world looked like it was falling apart.

Dust and rocks began to fall from the ceiling, cracks were appearing in the walls and everything that once had stood upright was crashing to the ground. But Arthur ignored all these things; he remained focused on where he had to get to.

Arthur only paused at the top of a spiral staircase; the stone stairs chipped, cracked and broken because of the force of whatever curse had fallen upon the Castle, they didn't look very stable. But there was no time to go and look for another route, nowhere would be any safer, Arthur would just have to risk it and go down the stairs.

If keeping balance of flat ground was difficult, it was almost impossible when running down a flight of ancient, stone steps. Arthur leant a hand against the stone wall to try and keep his balance. He could feel the vibrations through the wall, surging through his fingertips. What was this terrible thing that was causing half the Castle to collapse?

Almost reaching the end of the staircase, a terrible shudder from the earth caused Arthur to finally loose his balance completely. He tumbled down the remaining few steps, he grunted and even cried out as he felt his knees and arms collide with the harsh stone.

Eventually, Arthur reached the bottom with a nasty thud. Feeling bruised all over, Arthur knew he couldn't lie around feeling sorry for himself. He leapt onto his feet, ignoring the pain that shot up his right ankle, and unaware of a bruise that was already forming on his cheek.

Arthur ran on, trying hard not to limp because of the pain in his twisted ankle, he dashed past more chambers, eventually coming to a long corridor that lead to the Great Hall.

On a normal day, the great wooden doors leading into the Great Hall would be shut, and there would be two expressionless guards, dressed in the Camelot colours, standing guard. Today however the two oak doors swung open, one hanging off of its hinges, and the two guards had long since fled.

Hardly noticing this unusual sight, Arthur burst into the Great Hall.

Arthur stopped as he entered the Great Hall, looking around at the people inside. There were a group of four Knights standing in the corner by a large stone pillar, the only one without a crack running down it, and a couple of guards stood with them. The guards and Knights seemed to be trying to make sense of the situation, but found themselves unable to do anything else but stare in horror as the ceiling itself shook. A couple of maids were cowering together in the other corner, holding each other and squealing with fright as the great trembling continued. A few servants were also in the room, but were cowering under the table that stood in the centre of the Great Hall.

Arthur should have felt relieved to see that the Great Hall was still standing, and there were some people inside the Castle who were still living, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed and devastated.

He couldn't help but count the people who were missing from the Great Hall off in his head.

There was no Uther, no Gaius, no Merlin, no Morgana, no Gwen.

Arthur hadn't realised that he had been standing in the entrance of the Great Hall, staring out at the occupants and thinking of the missing, until someone rushed towards him and cried out.

"Sire, look out!" It was Sir Leon; he was one of the Knights that had been standing with the guards. He looked like he had run here too, and had met worse on the way than Arthur. His scarlet cloak was torn, his cheeks were bright red, and there was a nasty gash on the top of his head.

Sir Leon ran to Arthur, who hadn't realised he was frozen to the spot, and pulled him away from the entrance to the Great Hall.

Before Arthur could ask what Sir Leon was doing, he looked up to see great piles of dust forming where he had just been standing. There was another great rumble, causing yells and screams, and the ceiling gave way.

Great rocks and timber fell from huge cracks in the ceiling, just where Arthur was standing. He and Sir Leon could do nothing but stare as they watched the debry pile up.

Moments later the great tremors ceased, but the passage between the Great Hall and the corridor, had been blocked off.


	4. Splinter

_Sorry about the long wait for the update, had a busy weekend, and was feeling ill for most of last week! :S I was feeling a little bit concerned with this chapter, wasn't sure if it's a little OOC, but I hope you enjoy (: _

_Reviews are awesome! (:_

Chapter 4 – Splinter

Merlin simply froze in the doorway to Arthur's deserted chamber, as if he was too shocked to move. As he stood there, the great rumblings that had surged through the castle ceased. Merlin was relieved to still be standing, to still be living. But what of the others?

Merlin could feel himself beginning to panic at the sight of Arthur's empty chambers. Had he already failed his destiny before it had even begun?

However, the fact that Arthur wasn't in his chambers, Merlin decided to take as a good sign. It meant that he wasn't dead or seriously injured, as he had been able to get up and move around, and the window wasn't smashed, so there was very little chance that Arthur had somehow fallen out of his chamber.

Perhaps he had already got out of the castle? No, that wasn't like Arthur, knowing that other people were in the castle too, he would do something about it. He would still be inside, helping others.

So where would he have gone? He probably would go to where most people seemed to end up in a crisis, and that was the Great Hall. It was a pretty big room, the biggest in the castle; there was very little chance that the whole of the Great Hall had collapsed. Merlin hoped not anyway.

Pushing this new uneasy thought to the back of his head, Merlin ran towards the Great Hall.

The journey on the way showed him nothing but crumbled walls and occasionally part of a collapsed ceiling. Merlin ran down a spiral staircase, the stone steps chipped and broken. He reached the bottom with a little more ease than Arthur, and looked around, wondering where to go next.

There was a noise from behind him, it was coming from the corridor on his left, it seemed like one of the few that hadn't collapsed from the great shaking of the earth. Merlin froze when he heard the noise, as if he was scared of it. But what was scarier than what he had been through? At least it didn't sound like the creaking of a ceiling about to collapse in on itself.

The noise happened again, it turned into a whisper, a voice.

"Help me."

Merlin turned around, and saw a man sitting on the floor on the corridor, his back resting on the wall, the only thing keeping him upright. By the trail of blood on the floor, it looked like the man had crawled there.

By the clothes the man was wearing, he looked like a Camelot guard. Merlin recognised the man's short brown hair and matching coloured eyes; he felt a slight pang of guilt. This guard might be one of the many he had drugged or tricked over the years to get someone out or through the Camelot prison cells.

The guard smiled, "thank the Gods, someone else." He breathed; he looked so relieved he looked like he was about to burst into laughter. "Who is that?" The guard asked after a few moments of silence.

There were only a few metres between them, so Merlin was slightly concerned about the fact the man could hardly see him. Perhaps he had hit his head? As Merlin moved closer, he saw the source of the trail of blood. A huge gash in the guard's thigh, a splinter of timber was sticking out of the wound and blood was still trickling down his leg.

Seeing the true extent of the wound and getting over his surprise of seeing another living being, Merlin ran to the guard and bent down beside him, taking a closer look at the wound and thinking of what he could do. The guard hardly seemed to notice the wound, or didn't care about it. His eyes were fixed on Merlin.

"You're Arthur's manservant aren't you?" He said after another pause. "Merlin isn't it?"

Merlin nodded.

The guard grinned, "it's so good to see another friendly face!"

Merlin couldn't help but smile too, "the feeling's mutual," he admitted.

The guard lifted up a hand for Merlin to shake; it looked like a lot of effort. "Aldwin," the guard said when Merlin shook his hand. "I was minding my own business, then the world fell apart," Aldwin laughed, but Merlin didn't find it very funny.

"Where did you come from?" Merlin asked. If Arthur had come this way, or got this far, surely he would have noticed a guard lying injured on the floor.

"That direction," Aldwin nodded down the corridor that stretched out before Merlin, which wasn't very helpful. "The whole east wing of the Castle seems to have collapsed," Aldwin continued.

Merlin grimaced, that was the direction Morgana had run. "What's in the east wing of the Castle?" He asked Aldwin, he already knew, but he felt like he needed someone to confirm his fears.

Aldwin paused for a few moments as he thought, "most of the royal chambers, the kitchens down below, a few guest chambers, but I think today they were empty, thankfully*." Aldwin added. "I hoped that the Great Hall would still be standing, and that there would be other people there, so I decided to try and make my way there, but it's surprisingly tricky." Aldwin let out a bitter laugh as he looked down at his injured leg. "I trust you were making you're way there too." He continued.

Merlin nodded, "I need to find Arthur," he explained.

Aldwin smiled, "oh yes, where else would a noble servant and friend be in a time like this?" He said, "well Merlin, since we're heading in the same direction, would you mind err," Aldwin looked down again at his leg, "giving me a hand?"

Merlin obliged immediately, even if Aldwin hadn't asked for help he would had given it. He carefully helped the guard up onto his feet. Aldwin bared his teeth as pain soured up his leg, he put his arm around Merlin's shoulders to try and ease the weight on the leg. Merlin was amazed by the amount of bravery and humour the man was showing, despite what he had just been through, and the pain he was probably feeling.

The two began to make their way slowly down the corridor, Aldwin was limping badly, and Merlin tried to help him as best he could. He wished he could use magic, but he hated to think how this friendly but loyal guard could turn very nasty at the sight of magic, and he had never been very good at healing wounds. The best person he needed was Gaius.

The journey to the Great Hall suddenly seemed to be lasting an age. The weight of Aldwin and the worries hanging on Merlin's mind was not helping the situation. He tried not to think about how each step the two of them took felt like to much effort, he wanted to try and keep Aldwin talking as well, try and keep his mind of the pain.

"So where were you when everything…happened?" Merlin asked, wondering if this was a good subject to talk about, but it was only thing on his mind and it wouldn't leave him alone.

Aldwin didn't seem to mind. "I had just ended my shift guarding the prison cells. I was considering going to the kitchens and sneaking something to eat, but when the walls started shaking I knew it wasn't due to my stomach rumbling!" Aldwin joked, "as soon as the cracks started appearing, I ran for it. I thought I was going to get away, but then a piece of timber fell down and trapped my leg. I knew I was done for, but then a dozen rocks fell from the ceiling all around me, they landed with such force it tore the timber into pieces. It helped me set my leg free, but it came with a nasty price." Aldwin looked down at his still bleeding leg and the splinter as he said this. "As soon as the trembling stopped I tried to make my way away from the destruction, and to somewhere safe."

"Did you meet anyone else on the way?" Merlin asked. He hated to think how many people had ended up being buried by rocks and timber like Aldwin, and it was only luck that had helped him escape.

Aldwin shook his head sadly, "no, it seems they had already made a run for it, or have been trapped inside chambers. The corridors that weren't blocked off have been deserted," Aldwin shivered at the memory of him struggling down the ghostly passageways, alone.

"Let's just hope most people have made it out alive," Merlin said grimly, as if he was already relying on to the last few threads of hope left for the Castle, and the destructive occurrence had only happened a few minutes ago.

"I'm sure Arthur will know what to do, and will help the people still trapped," Aldwin nodded.

Just as Aldwin said this, they arrived at the corridor that lead on to the Great Hall. Merlin could see the disaster as he approached.

The doors of the Great Hall had been completely torn away, and in its place were piles of rocks and timber that had come from the ceiling, blocking anyone in the Great Hall in, and those outside the Great Hall out. Merlin hoped there hadn't been that much damage to the Great Hall itself.

Reaching what had once been the entrance to the Great Hall, Merlin gently rested Aldwin on the ground, his back leaning against the wall, and ran to the blockage of rocks.

He could just about peer through the gaps in the grey stones, but it was difficult to see anything.

"Hello?" Merlin called out, "is anyone in there?"

There was a short pause, and then: "Merlin?"

"Arthur!" Merlin couldn't help but cry out in relief. A bright blue eye appeared between one of the gaps in the stones, and Merlin could tell it was Arthur's.

"Merlin!" Arthur repeated, matching his manservant's cry of relief. There was someone else out there, alive. "What's happened?"

"I have no idea, the ground wouldn't stop shaking!" Merlin said, there was nothing else to say, everything that had just happened was still a shock. "Are you all right? How many of you are in there?" He asked, he thought he could hear voices behind Arthur.

"I'm fine Merlin," Arthur said, a little shakily, "they're about twelve of us, and no serious damage. How about you?"

"There's just me and a guard, Aldwin," Merlin looked down at Aldwin as he spoke, the man seemed to be getting paler by the minute. "I'm fine but Aldwin's in a bad way, he needs help."

"I'm sorry Merlin but there's nothing I can do, we're trapped in here." Arthur explained, trying not to sound too panicked or desperate. "I could try and move the rocks out the way, but who knows how long that will take? And it could well be dangerous."

Merlin paused, thinking. "Is Gaius in there with you?" He asked hopefully, Gaius could at least give instructions of what to do, even if he was blocked off in another room.

"No he's not in here. Last time I saw him he was with my father—" Arthur stopped suddenly in mid sentence, "oh God, my father…"

There was another pause as Merlin thought again, but there wasn't much to think about, there weren't many options. "Don't worry Arthur," Merlin called through the gaps in the stones, "I'll go and find them, I'm sure they'll be fine." But there was no point saying such a thing, no one knew who was fine. "Where did you last see him?" Merlin asked, pushing this last thought out of his head.

"I think they were heading to my father's chamber," Arthur explained. "But I don't know if they even made it—"

Merlin interrupted Arthur before he could let terrible thoughts and images seep into his mind. "I'll go and find them for you, I'm sure at least one of them will know what to do." He said.

There was a pause, Arthur was obviously thinking of another way, but there wasn't one. "Thank you Merlin," he sighed eventually.

Merlin turned to leave, but he saw Aldwin lying on the ground, helpless. He stopped in his tracks, he couldn't leave Aldwin out here.

Aldwin knew what Merlin was thinking, and he smiled. "Don't worry about me Merlin," he assured him, "I'll be fine sitting here, I have the Prince for company, and you can help me as soon as you get back."

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Merlin promised, to both Aldwin and the people in the Great Hall.

After hesitating for a few more moments, hating the thought of abandoning Aldwin, Merlin rushed down the corridor to the King's chambers, knowing it was the best thing he could do.

_*I have no idea what's on the east wing of the Castle, I'm making this up, I apologise if this is incorrect, if it is we'll just say it's because it's slightly AU!_


	5. Gaius and Uther

_This chapter is a flash back to what Gaius and Uther were doing at the time of the disaster. I think there may be one or two other chapters like this, so I hope you're OK with that. I hope I'm not boring you with this story already, I feel like I am, or I may just be thinking that because I've had a stressful evening so I'm feeling a bit down. Anyway, I hope you are still enjoying the story!_

_Reviews much appreciated (:_

Chapter 5 – Gaius and Uther

Uther and Gaius were heading to Uther's chambers at around the same time that Merlin and Morgana had encountered each other in the corridor. Both of which occurred in the east wing of the Castle.

Uther was in a good mood; the last week had been very quiet in terms of disturbances to the Kingdom and the dangers of magic. He was constantly thinking and wondering about who or what would come next to destroy his Kingdom. But the City had had peace for so long, he was allowing himself to relax a little. He didn't tell anyone he was thinking this, but Gaius knew by the smile on his face what was on his mind.

Gaius hoped as much as Uther that this would remain the same. Every time an innocent person was killed because of a gift that they couldn't help having, his heart broke a little more, and reminded him that the purge that had occurred more than twenty years ago, never really ended.

"I have some papers for you to look over Gaius, if you don't mind," Uther said as they walked, clearly unaware of the thoughts going through Gaius' mind. "I have been considering how to keep magicians out of the Kingdom, so we won't have to deal with them as much when they get in. I thought I should ask you as I can trust your judgement."

"I shall help in any way I can," Gaius said, the enthusiasm clearly missing from his voice. He had just been thinking about how quiet the Kingdom had been, did this really need to take place? He had better things to do, like treating patients, not listening to what the King had to say, which he probably had said before, as it concerned magic.

Once again, Uther was oblivious to what Gaius was thinking; he was too busy thinking about what a surprisingly good day it had been, and that with new laws in place about entering the Kingdom, maybe they'll be many good days to come. Little did Uther know that the most important witches and wizards of time had already passed through or were living in Camelot.

Reaching his chambers, Uther strode in, and immediately started looking for the papers he had just been telling Gaius about. Gaius stood by the door silently, watching the King search, and thinking about how poor a searcher he was. He was about to offer some help, when something else caught his attention.

Uther's chambers were huge, as was to be expected, after all, he was the King. The main part of the chamber contained Uther's four poster bed in the very centre, blanketed in a rich material, blood red in colour. In one corner there was a large table and a few chairs, where Uther occasionally dined when he wanted a quiet evening, an empty goblet still sat on the ancient oak. The only other things in the room were chests of draws (which Uther was currently searching) and a wardrobe. Stain-glass windows rested within every wall and candles were dotted around the room.

However, it was just the goblet that was taking up Gaius' attention. At first he thought it was just the trick of the light, or the mind, but as he continued staring at it he was quite sure what he was seeing was real.

The goblet was shaking.

At first it was nothing but a little tremble, as if someone had just accidentally knocked the table when they passed it, but as the seconds passed it got worse, as if someone was deliberately shaking the table. Gaius raised a concerned eyebrow as he watched.

"Gaius?" Uther was staring at Gaius, the papers in his hand, a look of concern and wonder on his face, curious to know why Gaius looked so fascinated by his table.

"Forgive me Sire," said Gaius, breaking his gaze for a few moments to look at the King, but then went back to the goblet. "But is it me, or is there something the matter with this table?"

By this time, the whole table was shaking, causing the goblet to fall over, and then clatter to the ground. Gaius could feel it through his feet now, whatever had made the table shake, was happening in the very ground they stood on, making it tremble. By the startled and terrified look on Uther's face, he was feeling it as well.

As the seconds passed, the trembling through the ground got worse and worse, until it was hard to keep balance. The candles standing on stone couldn't keep upright any more either, and they toppled over along with the chairs. The windows rattled horribly, as if the glass was trying to hold itself in place against the great surge of energy. Some of them gave in, and great cracks were coursing through them, creating a horrible crunching noise as they went. The draws were falling out of their own accord, sending other papers, inks and quills spilling all over the floor. The doors of the wardrobe flew open as if possessed by some terrible creature.

Uther cried out in fear and alarm as the shaking continued, he stumbled backwards, and almost fell onto his bed, which was shaking too. He still clutched the papers in his hand, as if it was the only thing he felt was safe any more.

Instead of leaping away from the bed like Uther, Gaius stumbled towards it, leaning on one of the tall posts that sat on the edge of the bed, to help him keep balance. He could feel the vibrations shuddering through his fingers.

Shock had made Gaius' mind go blank, but now he was trying to think quickly of what to do. He could see the shear panic in Uther's eyes, and knew in a situation like this, panicking and acting rashly could lead to an early death.

Just as he thought this, dust began to fall from the ceiling in the corners. If the shaking carried on any longer, the ceiling would give in.

"Sire!" Gaius found himself having to cry out over the noises of everything in the room shaking and collapsing. "You have to get away from the edges of the room Sire, it could be dangerous!"

Uther looked up when Gaius said this, and his jaw dropped as he watched the ceiling of his home beginning to crack and crumble.

Suddenly, there was a horrible crash just outside the room, causing Uther to cry out in fear, but the door, which had been slammed shut by the force of the vibrations, remained tightly closed.

For a few more, horrible moments, both Gaius and Uther felt like the trembling would continue forever, until the ceiling collapsed and they were both crushed.

But then, the shaking ceased, and silence returned.

Gaius took his hand off the bed post, breathing heavily as if he had just run a mile. Uther was still frozen to the spot, the once important papers crushed in his hand. A look of pure terror was on his face; his eyes were wide and his mouth was still wide open with shock and horror.

People are always warned of the silence before the storm, but the silence after, can be even worse.

Eventually, it was Uther that said something. Just one word, uttered hoarsely from paralysed lips, stuttering as he went.

"M, m, magic?"

"I don't know what it was my Lord," Gaius said, his voice as calm as he could keep it. He had a feeling what it might have been, but he was praying that it wasn't. "We're over the worst though Sire, we'll be all right," he said in a comforting voice.

But the fear in Uther's eyes, did not fade.

After standing in the room for a few more minutes, silence reigning over the two men, Gaius decided that they couldn't just stand around any longer, they had to get out and see what damage had been done. The King was clearly in shock; he needed comfort and support. Gaius would try his best to help, but there was very little he could do if he just stood around in the King's chambers.

He headed to the door, grateful that it hadn't blown off its hinges due to the immense force that had soared through the chamber. He grasped the brass door handle and pushed it.

Nothing happened. The door was stuck.

Gaius tried not to show his panic and frustration in his face, just in case Uther noticed. He tried again, pushing against the door as hard as he could, but it didn't move.

That huge crash must have come from just outside the chamber, and whatever had happened had now blocked them in. Thoughts raced through Gaius' mind, what other places in the Castle had suffered similar damage? How many other people were trapped?

By the way Gaius was standing, frozen at the door, Uther knew that something was wrong, and it wasn't long before he guessed what. As realisation dawned on him, that he was trapped in his room, he began to panic even more.

Camelot could be under attack, and such an invisible and sudden force must have been caused by magic. The whole Castle could have been destroyed; hundreds of people could be dead!

And what of his son? Where was Arthur? Why wasn't Arthur here with him? What was happening!

The magical beast could hit again, or the magic people that had caused such a thing might come for him. They might know that the King of Camelot was trapped, and they were coming to destroy him…

Without even realising, Uther let out a terrified squeak. He stumbled backwards, as if he had lost the use of his legs. He felt his back hit the stone wall, and sunk down beside it, knees drawn up in front of his face, his eyes wide and terrified.

"Magic," he repeated again, his voice bearly louder than a mouse. "It was magic, it'll finish us all."

Gaius looked down at the King, whose eyes were filled with tears. His heart panged with sympathy, at seeing the King crouching on the floor, terrified. But he had to stay focused, Uther was clearly traumatised, he had to get out of this room, but how?


	6. The Book

_I feel that this chapter sounds a little rushed, I hope it doesn't (:_

_Only two reviews for the last chapter ):_

Chapter 6 – The Book

Merlin walked down the twisting corridors and down the stone staircases that made up the castle of Camelot, after a while his pace quickened, until he broke out into a run. The corridors were horribly silent; the only sound Merlin could hear were his thudding footsteps, and it made him feel uneasy. Who knew if there was any life left within the chambers he rushed passed? Or the piles of rubble that occasionally blocked his way, and forced him to take a longer route. He longed to search through them all, even if he found nothing, he would be happy, because he had looked, but there was no time. Perhaps Arthur could send out search parties later, but there was so much havoc all around the castle so soon after such a disaster, how could such a thing be organised? Merlin felt he didn't know which way was up.

Merlin found himself beginning to believe that he was in a dream, after all, how could this be reality? How could such a thing happen to Camelot? He had seen many things, and had been warned of even more, but never did he even think that such a thing might happen to the world he loved. Not even magic could solve all this damage.

But Merlin knew that this was not a nightmare, it was real. If it was a nightmare, he would have woken up in terror by now. He had to stay focused, not let his brain wonder and question the very things he believed were real all his life.

Fortunately, Merlin still remembered the way to Uther's chamber. But when he reached the corridor that lead to the chamber, he found himself hoping that Gaius and Uther had never made it. The whole corridor was littered with boulders that had fallen through a massive hole that travelled across the whole ceiling. Merlin had to worm his way carefully through the carnage; stones of all sizes, glass and large pieces of timber lying at jagged angles littered the corridor. Merlin was beginning to get a horrible feeling that Gaius and Uther had been buried alive.

Finally reaching the door to Uther's chamber, after what seemed like an age, Merlin felt a pang of despair and his last feelings of hope dwindle away, as he saw a huge piece of timber had completely blocked the door off. What damage had been done on the inside? The whole chamber could have collapsed, and the only thing preventing the contents from spilling out into the corridor was this large plank of timber.

Merlin felt like just turning and walking away, what was the point? If the whole chamber had collapsed, the chances that someone had survived were a million to one.

But a small voice told him that a million to one chance, was still a chance. He just had to check, check if there was nothing living inside. It may be too dangerous to step inside the chamber itself, but he had to check.

"Hello?" Merlin called out, feeling that he was shouting at nothing but a jammed door. After all, nothing else could hear him.

Silence.

Merlin tried again. "Hello? Is anyone in there? Can anyone hear me?"

Silence.

Merlin tried once more, but again the reply was nothing but silence.

Merlin sighed, he was about to give up, thinking he would have to search the whole of the castle to find Gaius and Uther, he had even started to walk away, when a voice suddenly replied from the other side of the door.

"Merlin? Merlin is that you?"

Gaius.

Merlin ran back to the door, leaning forward and pressing his palms against the door, as if it would bring him closer to Gaius, or it would somehow cause the door to burst open.

"Gaius!" Merlin found himself shouting at the top of his voice, "Gaius it's me!"

He thought he heard Gaius give a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness Merlin, you're alive." There was a slight pause, "what are you doing here?" Gaius asked. Truth be told, he thought no one was going to come and find them, at least not for a long time. He was about to prepare himself for a few long, cold, hungry nights in this chamber with Uther, until help arrived.

"Arthur said you and the King might be here, so I came to find you." Merlin shouted back, a contrast to Gauis' voice, as he was still trying to remain quiet and calm. "Are you all right?"

"I'm quite well Merlin," Gaius assured the young Warlock, "we had a lucky escape, but Uther—" Gaius' voice trailed off, as if he wasn't sure how to describe the current state Uther was in.

Merlin thought he heard a small voice on the other side of the door, it sounded like Uther, murmuring something about magic. Merlin knew he had to get Gaius and Uther out, he grabbed the piece of timber and tried to lift it out the way, but it was far too heavy.

"The door's jammed," he explained to Gaius, "I can't shift it, but perhaps I could—"

"Don't you dare!" Gaius said hurriedly, well aware that Merlin was about to suggest using magic. "Doing such a thing with the King in sight is a bad idea at the best of times, but in the current state he's in…" Gaius turned from the door and glanced at Uther, who was still crouching on the floor, wide-eyed. He was now saying something about a dragon's wrath that had made the ground come alive. "It wouldn't be safe for his health alone." Gaius assured Merlin.

"But what can I do?" Merlin asked desperately. "Arthur needs to know that his father's safe, and I need your help too. Who knows how many casualties there'll be, and there's a guard who has a bad splinter in his leg, he needs your aid, or else he'll die."

Gaius hesitated for a moment, thinking. "I'll find a way to get us safely out of here soon Merlin, don't worry. As for the guard, if the splinter is too deep into his leg, it would be unsafe to pull it out, however if the wound is shallow; you should be able to remove the splinter. Bandage it up tightly with something to stop the blood loss, and try and keep the wound clean until I can get to you."

Merlin nodded, as if he had temporarily forgotten that Gaius couldn't actually see him through the door.

"I'll be back as soon as I can!" Merlin promised Gaius. There were so many things to do at once, he wanted to try and save Aldwin's leg, he wanted to get Arthur out of the Great Hall and who knew who else needed help. But he didn't want to leave Gaius alone, and he wanted to get him out too, he would have to return. Gaius could at least give him advice, even if he was stuck on the other side of a door.

"Wait!" Gaius suddenly called out.

Merlin quickly headed back to the door. "What is it?" He asked, impatient to leave.

"We need to find out what has caused all this damage," Gaius explained, "what made the ground shake, just in case it happens again, or something worse. I think I know what it is, but I want to make sure. I need you to go down to the library. There's a black leather-bound book within the section that tells the history of Camelot. It's called 'The Myths of the Ground' and it might be able to explain what happened. And find Geoffrey while you're there," Gaius added, " he's always with his books, make sure he's all right."

Merlin promised Gaius he would, and then ran out of the corridor feeling that time was of the essence.

XXX

The first thing Merlin did when he left Gaius, was go and check on Aldwin. The guard was still sitting on the floor, he looked very pale, but there was a smile on his face.

"Why Merlin you're back!" He said joyfully, but his voice sounded weak. "Arthur and I were just discussing how badly you clean his chambers."

Merlin couldn't help but grin, Aldwin's positive and joking attitude was catching even in a situation like this, Merlin wished he had met the guard sooner before all this had happened. "You must be delirious," he told him.

"He's certainly not!" Came a voice from inside the Great Hall. Aldwin had even made Arthur sound cheery, but for a few moments Arthur became serious again. "Merlin, have you found my father?" He asked.

"Yes," Merlin told him, as he bent down to take a closer look at Aldwin's wound. The splinter looked too deep to take out. "I don't think the King or Gaius are hurt, but they're stuck in your father's chambers. We need more man power to get him out."

"We've been trying to move these rocks," Arthur explained, he wished he could help his father, and whoever else who might be trapped, "but it's slow and dangerous work."

"I have offered my help," Aldwin pointed out.

"No!" Arthur snapped back at him, his voice muffled by the boundary between him and Aldwin, "you stay where you are!"

Aldwin looked annoyed, or tried to, his face looked too tired to show any expression, but he was trying. Merlin jumped up suddenly, an idea in mind, and ran to the end of the corridor, where a drape and fallen to the floor. He tore some of the material off, and ran back to Aldwin. He then used it to bandage Aldwin's leg.

"I'm afraid Arthur's right," Merlin told Aldwin as he bandaged the leg. It didn't look the neatest of jobs, but it would have to do. "you stay here, I'll be back in a minute."

Aldwin nodded, a smile on his face and muttering some thanks. Merlin turned to leave.

"Hang on Merlin, where are you going?" Arthur demanded, but Merlin had already ran down the corridor and disappeared.

XXX

When Merlin finally reached the corridor the first thing he encountered, was water. He assumed there must have been a well near by, which had been damaged by whatever had struck Camelot and had somehow leaked into the chambers that were low on the ground.

Most of the shelves in the library were still standing, but almost all of the books had fallen off them, and were now floating calmly in the shallow water. Merlin carefully made his way through the library, trying to think of where the book Gaius had described to him could be. It was dark in this chamber at the best of times, but all the candles had been extinguished, and Merlin was finding it difficult to see. He wondered where Geoffrey was.

"Geoffrey?" He called out into the darkness, hoping to get a reply as he had with Gaius.

The sound of dripping water echoed through the huge chamber, but apart from that there was no other reply.

Merlin hoped that Geoffrey was just hard to hearing, and continued to make his way through the library, peering at the books that lay around his feet. The further he walked in, the darker it got, it was becoming almost impossible to see anything. He considered using magic to give himself light, it could easily be done, but even that won't help him find one particular black book. There was something else he could do however.

Glancing around to make sure Geoffrey wasn't lurking in the shadows, to jump up and accuse him of magic, Merlin muttered aloud:

"_Invenies_"

Gold suddenly filled his eyes, rushing in like water from a broken dam, the only light in the dark room, but after only a few seconds it dwindled away, leaving Merlin in darkness once more.

But there was something, there was light. A twinkling, light blue glow in the corner of the chamber. Merlin headed over to it, hoping that his magic had worked. It had, the thing that was glowing light blue, was a black leather-bound book. He picked it up the soggy item and turned to the first page; he could just make out the words, in neat, swirling handwriting: 'The Myths of the Ground'.

A small amount of success in a world of devastation, made Merlin smile, and gave him some hope that at least they would know what had made the ground shake like it had. But he still wanted to find Geoffrey.

Merlin wondered around, glancing down the rows of shelves and looking round the over turned tables, trying to think of where Geoffrey usually sat. He called out Geoffrey's name over and over again, knowing he shouldn't make the same mistake he almost did with Gaius by walking away too soon. He kept on looking until his way was blocked by an immense tower of fallen rocks near the end of the library, that had been caused by the earthquake.

Becoming more and desperate, Merlin continued to call out Geoffrey's name louder and louder, but the only reply was a few drips of water and silence. Merlin tried anything he could to find Geoffrey, including magic; he wasn't sure how long he looked. He hadn't really thought about it before this moment, but now he realised that Geoffrey was a nice man, a good man, despite sometimes his habit to bore people when explaining things. Merlin couldn't just leave him in the darkness, the library was a big place, he kept on searching.

But in the end Merlin realised he had to accept that either Geoffrey wasn't in the library, or that he wasn't living on the Earth any more.

Wondering what he was going to tell Gaius, Merlin wondered back through the library, clutching the black book in his hand.


	7. Earthquakes

_I'll be going up to Cardiff for a couple of days this week, to visit Cardiff University (my first University I've looked at so far, so it's both scary and exciting at the same time!) In which case writing and therefore posting may be delayed for a few days, so sorry about that._

_Apologies also for a bit of a short chapter, it's not a very interesting chapter either, but you've got to have one of those every now and then, I hope it's OK!_

_Anyway, please review (only two reviews for the last chapter again ): ) and wish me luck in Cardiff! :D_

Chapter 7 - Earthquakes

Merlin arrived back at Uther's chamber, and found that everything was exactly as it was when he left it. The corridor was still empty of life, and the door was still firmly shut.

He wondered what was happening on the other side of the door. Little did Merlin know that Uther was still crouching on the floor, wide eyed, and had been in shock since the ground had shaken and that Gaius had been pacing up and down impatiently for the past ten minutes. Uther's current state worried Gaius, no one had really known the state of Uther's mind, apart from the fact that he was slowly getting more paranoid, but he was now starting to worry Gaius even more. He told himself that a reaction like that in this sort of situation was normal, or rather, he hoped.

Gaius stopped pacing immediately when he heard the pounding footsteps of his nephew.

"Gaius!" Merlin called through the trapped door, alerting his uncle to his presence, and hoping he was still safe.

"Merlin," Gaius had never felt so relieved to hear Merlin's voice so many times in one day. "Did you manage to get down to the library and find the book?" He asked.

Merlin looked down at the book clutched in his hand, cold droplets of water trickling down his hand, he hoped the ink hadn't run. "Yes, and I got the right book," he assured Gaius.

"And Geoffrey?" Gaius asked hopefully.

Merlin tried to hold back a sigh, how was he going to tell Gaius? "I…he wasn't there Gaius, I couldn't find him, he must have gone somewhere else, I'm sorry."

There was silence on the other side of the door. Merlin could imagine the sadness now etched across Gaius' face. Him and Geoffrey had must been friends for a very long time, and Gaius knew that you could hardly find Geoffrey anywhere else other than the library. Merlin's apology seemed to confirm his worried thoughts.

"So what is the book going to tell us?" Merlin asked, hating the dreaded silence that had been created.

Gaius tried to steer his thoughts towards the book, not to Geoffrey. "There should be a chapter in there called 'Earth Quakes'." He told Merlin.

There was a pause as Merlin opened up the book and began flipping through the slightly soggy pages. Finally he came to a page with the words 'Earth Quakes' written in flowing, black ink, and had only been a little smudged by the water.

"Is this what you think has happened to us?" Asked Merlin, glancing over the words scrawled across the page, and the one drawing of a huge crack running through what looked like a dirt road.

"I'm not sure, read it aloud and we might find out," Gaius said, a little grimly. He couldn't be sure, he hadn't read it for a while, it was one of the books Uther had discouraged from reading, as he believed it was about magic. But Gaius did have a feeling this book would give them the answers they needed.

Merlin rested the book on his chest and read aloud:

_Every one hundred years, one of the strangest myths of the earth occurs. The ground starts to shake and the earth erupts beneath a man's feet. _

_Reports have been made and stories passed down through the generations have told tales of huge cracks scarring the earth, buildings collapsing and rivers flooding. People become trapped beneath the buildings that tumble to the ground, and all is due to the sudden and dramatic movement of the earth shaking the world. The movement in the earth can be felt for miles around, but may only last a few seconds. Over the years, it has come to be known as an Earth Quake. _

_An Earth Quake can be very damaging at first, and leave much destruction behind it. Sometimes the ground frequently starts shaking again for a few hours afterwards. _

_Many believe that such a thing as an Earth Quake occurs when the Gods are angry. Some believe that the earth is actually moving under their feet, and this has caused the ground to shake. Others say that it is conjured by magic._

_It is very hard to predict when an Earth Quake might happen again. It has no link to bad weather or harvests. However animals can sometimes sense an Earth Quake before one occurs, as if the magic can be felt in the air before the damage actually occurs. The last report of an Earth Quake was ninety years ago, if the predictions of every hundred years are true, another one will soon strike Camelot again and the lands around it. People need to prepare themselves before the ground starts shaking again._

_Whatever the Earth Quake may be, only one thing is certain; death is sure to follow it. _

Merlin turned over the page, expecting to learn more, but he found nothing but blank pages. He looked up from it the book to the sealed door,

"That's it," Merlin told Gaius in an apologetic tone. "There's not much there."

Although, thinking about it, this was enough of information they needed, plenty even, Merlin thought. It explained what had happened, or had given a name to it anyway. It had made sense as well, the earth did quake, cracks had appeared and corridors in the Castle alone had collapsed. The dogs had been keeping Merlin awake the night before (although the adrenaline had made any ounce of tiredness still left in his system vanish) did the dogs know what was going to happen? And death was sure to follow this particular earthquake.

"That book was written over a hundred years ago," Gaius said suddenly.

His voice pulled Merlin out of his thoughts, "what?"

"If the Earth Quake happened every a hundred years, the book would have reported it after it happened in the next ten years, but they didn't, it never happened. We have been overdue one for about two hundred years," Gaius explained solemnly. "That is why it's been so dangerous this time."

This made sense to Merlin, but there was something else that bothered him about this news. "But…doesn't the book say it happens again shortly afterwards?" He asked, flipping back to the page about the earthquakes.

Gaius took a deep breath, "I'm afraid so," he confessed. "Not as strong as the first Earth Quake, but there will be more to come."

"So what to we do?" Merlin demanded.

"Wait it out," was all Gaius said.

"Is that it!" Merlin snapped, his usual passion and exuberance bubbling up in his voice suddenly. "There must be something I can do!"

Merlin wanted to get Gaius out of the chamber more than ever now, Gaius would surely know what to do more than he did. But what about Arthur? And Aldwin? And the other people trapped in the Great Hall? Were there other people trapped in other places within the Castle? What about people outside the Castle? If it hadn't just occurred within the walls of the Castle, the whole of the City or even the whole Kingdom could have felt the blows to the earthquake.

Merlin felt like his head was going to explode. There were so many things to do and yet the use of magic was still restraining him. He wasn't sure what he should do first; he wanted to split himself into several different people so he could do several different things at once. He still hadn't heard if Morgana had made it out safely. The only thing Merlin felt that he could do, was wait to hear Gaius' response, he would know what to do first.

There was a short pause; "help Arthur find survivors." Gaius told him.


	8. Secrets Unleashed

_Hopefully this chapter is a little more interesting than the few before it. Please tell me what you think!_

Chapter 8 – Secrets Unleashed

Arthur slumped down next the huge table that stood in the middle of the Great Hall. It was the first time he had sat down since the earthquake struck. He had spent all the time trying to shift the huge boulders that lay between the Great Hall and freedom. Fear had been driving Arthur and the others for a long time since their energy and hope ran out. Fear that if they were stuck in the Great Hall for days on end, they would starve…

It was the few Knights in the room that had ordered Arthur he had to give himself a rest. He hadn't looked at his ankle that he had twisted when he had fallen down the stone stairs, and now it was becoming hard to put weight on it. Arthur didn't want to sit around doing nothing, he wanted to help, and he was worried that if he didn't keep his mind going, panic might set in. But the Knights insisted.

Glancing around the huge Great Hall, Arthur saw that some people had already gone into panic and shock. Everyone was helping at the entrance to the Great Hall, carefully lifting stones from the top and discarding them on the floor, apart from a servant and a maid who were standing in the far corner of the Great Hall. They looked like they knew each other, and were clutching each other as they both sobbed, probably fearing the worst for the people they loved within the walls of the castle.

Arthur watched, and thought about the person he wanted to have arms around, giving comfort, wherever she was…

A loud and sudden crack brought Arthur from his placid thoughts. He leapt up as more rocks suddenly tumbled down from the ceiling, loosened by the removal of ones below them. The Knights, soldiers, servants and maid helping yelled and stumbled backwards as stones scattered around at their feet. For a few, horrible moments, everyone in the room thought that all the rocks were going to crash down on top of them.

But then the Great Hall grew still and silent again. Nothing moved.

Everyone stared at the new pile of rocks that had come thundering down on the Great Hall entrance. All the work they had done for who knows how long, had just been destroyed in only a few seconds. They had been getting closer to their goal, the top of the entrance had been cleared of rocks, but now they had been replaced with even more.

Arthur tried to hold back a groan, what were they going to do now?

"Is everyone all right?" Arthur asked, advancing forward towards the entrance and trying hard to suppress the despair building up inside him.

No one spoke, they just nodded slowly. Arthur glanced at each of them, all looked unharmed. The only fresh blood came from Sir Leon's still open head wound, they needed to do something about that wound, but getting out of the Great Hall was everyone's current priority.

A couple of the guards began to move forward towards the entrance again, anxious to get started at taking down the rocks; they had a lot of work to do. But Arthur spoke harshly to them:

"Don't, it's too dangerous." He could see in his head the whole thing collapsing again, and if it did, they might not be so lucky, people could get hurt, or worse.

"But what are we going to do?" Sir Leon asked, turning to look at Arthur. Arthur stared in the Knight's bright blue eyes with his own. He could see fear nestling there, one of the best and bravest Knights of Camelot was scared. And he wasn't the only one, Arthur just hoped no one could see it reflected in his own face.

He shrugged as if he knew that everything was going to be all right, and was about to give some sort of suggestion to help with the helpless situation, when he heard pounding footsteps outside the Great Hall, coming to a halt at the entrance.

Merlin arrived, he had run all the way from Uther's chambers. The devastation he had left seemed to be worse, if that was possible. The doorway to the Great Hall had been completely filled with stone from a ceiling, even more so than before. But what concerned him most was that Aldwin was still sitting on the stone floor, his back resting against the wall, but his body was motionless and his eyes were closed. There was no greeting for Merlin this time.

Fearing the worst, Merlin bent down and started to try and find Aldwin's pulse in his neck, he felt horribly cold.

"Merlin? Merlin is that you?" There came a voice, not from Aldwin, but from within the Great Hall, Arthur's voice.

"Yes," Merlin's voice was full of relief as he responded; he had just found Aldwin's pulse. It was slow, it was faint, but it was still there. "I'm with Aldwin."

"Is he all right?" Arthur asked quickly, "he was talking to me for a long time, but then he suddenly went quiet."

"He's in a bad way," Merlin confessed in a murmur. There was no point lying, lying wasn't going to make anything better. He glanced down at Aldwin's leg; his make-shift bandage was blood-stained. "He needs to get some help," Merlin called to Arthur through the boulder blocking each other from view. "But Gaius is trapped, and the corridors are empty."

"Well there's not much I can do about it either," Arthur pointed out as he called back from inside the Great Hall. There was humour in his voice, as if things had become so bad there was nothing you could do but laugh in desperation.

Merlin froze, as if it had only just hit him: it was all down to him now.

Merlin stood up slowly, thinking about what he could do, but he had never felt so powerless. Only one radical thought came to his whirring mind over and over again that felt lost in a world he did not know. He stared at the barrier between him and Arthur.

He had to get Arthur out the Great Hall; Arthur would know what to do. Why were they wasting time when so many people needed help? Those in the Great Hall could be the only ones able to help those injured, not just Aldwin, who was fading away as the minutes went by. The Great Hall was always used as a hospital or place of refuge when something terrible happened, but at the moment it was more like a prison. And there was Gaius as well, he needed to get out too, and countless other people trapped in chambers. Why were they standing around waiting for a miracle?

Unless Merlin created the miracle.

Silence had settled around, but Merlin had hardly noticed. He was too busy feeling an unusual tingling sensation that ran down his arms to his fingertips, the sensation of knowing the power that could be held in them, the sensation that instinct knew exactly what to do. But would conscience forgive him for it?

Merlin stepped forward and reached his steady arms out so they leaned on the boulders. His usual bright, cheery eyes were suddenly hard and dark. He had thought many times over in his head how he would tell or reveal to Arthur his secret, but he didn't think it would be in this situation, when his very home was falling apart.

"Would you do anything? Anything to get out of there?" Merlin asked Arthur in a dark voice.

Arthur must have heard the serious tone in Merlin's voice, too serious for the Merlin he knew. Arthur wondered what Merlin was planning, but he answered anyway:

"Yes."

Merlin took a deep breath, "you'd better stand back then," he warned Arthur.

Arthur hesitated again, but then for once did as his servant advised, beckoning to other people to do the same. He didn't know what Merlin was thinking, but what was about to happen next, he really wasn't expecting.

Merlin yelled something at the top of voice, in a language Arthur couldn't understand, and yet he recognised with a strange ripple of dread and fear.

Suddenly, the boulders blocking the entrance of the Great Hall, exploded.

They burst from the inside out, cracking into tiny little pieces with flashes of bright gold. The rocks tumbled down on top of each other, flying in every direction. Arthur had to put his hands up in front of his face to protect himself from the flying pieces of stone. The sound that came with the explosion was like a clap a thunder and left Arthur's ears ringing. A great wave of power seemed to fill the room, the same power that had blown the rocks to pieces.

Within seconds it was over, and dust filled the air. Arthur heard the people around him murmuring to each other and gasping in shock, all thinking the same thing: what could have caused such a mighty thing to happen?

But Arthur knew very well.

Lowering his arms, Arthur saw that the entrance to the Great Hall had now been completely cleared. Stones lay scattered all around and dust still lingered in the air, but they were no longer trapped.

Standing at the doorway, was Merlin. Gold light fading from his eyes as he slowly lowered his arms.

For a few moments, Arthur and Merlin did nothing but stare at each other. It took Arthur longer to work out what had happened than it should have, but he was probably trying hard to deny what he had just seen. Or maybe he had already worked it out; his brain just hadn't registered it yet.

But there was no way he could deny it.

It was magic. He knew that the people within the Great Hall hadn't done it, and Aldwin was still unconscious. There was no one else close enough to create such magic, apart from Merlin.

Merlin had just used magic.

Merlin felt the guilt seep into his veins as Arthur set him with a deadly stare. He felt exhausted by using such powerful magic so suddenly, but whatever Arthur was about to do or say, it was worth it, Merlin told himself this over and over again. Arthur said he would do anything to be free from the Great Hall, and now he was.

But Merlin suddenly found himself fearful of the gaze Arthur gave him. He had thought about the different ways Arthur might react when he finally realised the truth, but he had never been sure what would happen. How much had Arthur taken after his father in terms of hatred towards magic?

Not really thinking about what he was doing, Arthur advanced towards Merlin, confusion slowly turning into anger that burned him from the inside. To think that Merlin was a wizard, that Arthur had trusted him for years, and Merlin had kept it secret all this time, made him feel like he had just been betrayed by one of the few friends he felt he had.

Merlin opened his mouth to say something, some sort of excuse, but he could think of nothing to say. He backed away slowly, hoping that Arthur would decide whatever punishment he deserved, it would have to wait. Half the castle had fallen down, he would have to deal with traitors later.

Eyes filled with rage and nostrils flaring, Arthur stopped just before Merlin. Slowly, he raised a hand; and Merlin couldn't help but flinch, he looked as if he was about to strike him for what he had just done. The Knights had swords; Merlin thought suddenly, Arthur could quite easily order his death right where he stood.

But Arthur froze, and the whole world seemed to fall still. Merlin realised that Arthur didn't know what to do.

His friend had just used magic, but he was still a friend.

In the end, Arthur sighed and looked away from Merlin's frightened face. He felt so angry, and yet he didn't want to do anything to Merlin, because he was still a friend.

With what sounded like a growl of frustration, Arthur shoved Merlin out of his way, turned and strode down the corridor, away from the Great Hall and the secrets that had just been unleashed, without even looking back.

Surprised by the sudden force, Merlin fell backwards. His head whacked against the cold stone wall, and he tumbled to the ground. Merlin winced as he rubbed the back of his head, and thought about what he had just done.


	9. Trapped

_Just finished making the edits for the third draft of a book I've written called Poppy Girl, after I had done the third draft I was planning it on sending it off to agents…which is the first step to getting something published…__Wow that's so exciting! :D :D Let's just hope my writing's good enough…what do you think? Reviews much loved, as always (:_

Chapter 9 - Trapped

There were many things that annoyed or made Arthur angry, being a pompous Prince and the building pressure of being King one day, it's not really surprising. But at this very moment, Arthur had never felt so furious in all his life as he strode down a cracked and broken corridor.

He had just seen his manservant, his friend, the person he was meant to trust, use magic right before his eyes. Such powerful magic it wasn't possible that Merlin had just suddenly decided to start using magic the other day, he must have been doing it for years.

What had Merlin said when they once spent a cold night lying on the floor of a mud hut that was once his home so long ago? He came to Camelot because he didn't fit in. What were the chances he had to leave the village or be chased out of it, because he 'didn't fit in', because he used magic.

Well, moving to Camelot wasn't a very wise choice then. But how could have Merlin kept it secret from him all these years?

Come to think of it, how did he not realise the truth sooner? Arthur paused as he thought this. People were running around him, checking each chamber they passed to see if anyone was inside, or if they were trapped. But Arthur felt like he was merely watching this scene through a window, the sights and sounds muffled as he was lost in his own thoughts.

There had been a few occasions, many actually, when something happened that seemed impossible to explain, and Merlin always seemed to be at the heart of it. But Arthur had never thought that it was beyond luck, or he had looked past Merlin and thought it was someone else. Merlin would stay silent, but truth be told it was probably him that caused the miracle to happen. And yet he told no one.

Through his rage, Arthur started to feel a little sympathy for Merlin. It must have driven him mad, never getting any credit, having to serve a really annoying Prince all day, when he could easily click his fingers and all the work would be done, but if he did, he would get into serious trouble. Merlin could have been living in fear all these years, fear of what would happen if anyone found out that he could use magic. It must have been difficult for him at times, if not all the time, and yet he said nothing. He remained pure Merlin – clumsy, idiotic, annoying, amusing, yet helpful and friendly.

But at the same time, this didn't change anything. Merlin had used magic, and Arthur had been taught for so long it was probably engraved on his skull; magic was wrong, magic was evil. Magic must be destroyed.

But what if the person who used magic was your best friend?

Arthur shook his head. Surely if magic was pure evil Merlin would have actually done some sort of evil deed by now? And how many times had Arthur felt regret or doubt when the use of magic led to slaughter? How many innocent people had been killed because of his paranoid father? Did he want to do the same thing? No. But the fact that Merlin had kept it so secret and was fully aware that magic was hated in this Kingdom, yet allowed himself to become friends with the Prince of that Kingdom left Arthur confused. It just made it seem like Merlin knew he was doing something wrong.

But the worse thing Merlin had ever done was make Arthur feel embarrassed, which was probably easily done without magic, he hadn't tried to take his life, in fact there were occasions he had save it. So was magic good or bad?

Arthur hadn't got a clue.

Trying desperately to think of something else other than Merlin or magic, Arthur concentrated at the job in hand – finding any survivors in the castle.

All the able men from the Great Hall were now making their way down corridors, carefully stepping over loose rubble and making their way to the doors of chamber, thudding on them and calling out, seeing if there was anyone inside. If they thought they heard a response, they would make their way in, which was usually harder than it sounded as a lot of the doors had been blocked off. Other men were trying to clear the rocks and timber that completely blocked off corridors. Their work was fast, and mainly quiet unless they shouted out for survivors. But the castle was a big place, how long was this going to take? And how stable was the ceiling above them?

Pushing this new horrible thought to the back of his mind, Arthur went to a door at the end of a corridor that hadn't been checked yet. He stopped by it, listening intently for any sign of life, not daring to just walk inside the chamber, as he might find a load of rubble falling on top of him.

Through the silence only interrupted by the clunking of giant stones being moved away in the distance, Arthur thought he heard a sniffling noise and a few, tiny sobs. Someone was trapped inside.

Arthur rapped a knuckle on the door.

"Hello?"

The sniffling suddenly stopped, but there was now reply.

Arthur cleared his throat, and called out louder through the thick wooden door – "this is Arthur Pendragon, is anyone in there?"

Once again there was no response, but Arthur thought he could hear shuffling from behind the door. Someone was definitely in there, but for some strange reason they didn't want to reply.

Knowing he couldn't leave it if someone was in there, Arthur turned the doorknob and pushed against the door. He could feel the door shift a little under his weight, but it didn't open. The door was stuck.

Grumbling something incoherent, Arthur pushed against the door again, harder this time, and gave it a hard kick with his uninjured foot. Again the door didn't open. Arthur tried once more, pushing all his strength that he had left against the door.

The door flew open, and Arthur almost fell in, tripping over the rubble that was scattered over the floor, and had been blocking the door off. His sudden entrance into the chamber had taken the occupant by surprise, and it gave a small scream.

The chamber was only a small one, and quite plain. It consisted of a single cabinet and one small window, the glass from the window now lying in pieces around it. Arthur wasn't sure if he had been in this chamber before, not for anything other than a search, there were so many chambers in the castle. Taking up half the space in the room, was a large single bed, and sitting on the bed, was a little girl.

The girl couldn't have been older than eight or nine. She had scrawny, short dark hair and huge dark eyes. Her face was pale apart from red marks around her eyes from where she had been crying. She was curled up in the middle of the bed, clutching a red cushion in her thin, shaking arms. When she saw Arthur, her eyes widened with fear and she trembled a little more.

Arthur stepped forward, a little more carefully than when he had fallen into the chamber, and held his hands out towards the girl, as if to show her that he was harmless.

"Hello," he said in a gentle voice.

The girl stared, she couldn't believe that she was being talked to by Prince Arthur Pendragon.

"Are you all right?" Arthur asked, moving a little closer to the girl. She didn't look hurt, just in shock; there was no blood or limbs sticking out at odd angles, the girl didn't look in pain, she just looked scared.

After a long pause, the girl nodded slowly.

Comforted by the fact she was able to give a response, Arthur walked carefully over to the bed, and sat down beside her. The girl gave a little gasp and tensed up, staring up at him, but he smiled at her.

"What's your name?" Arthur asked her gently.

The girl answered in a tiny voice, Arthur could only just make out the word – "Amelia."

"Hello Amelia," Arthur replied in the kindest voice he could, he wasn't quite sure how to speak to children, especially when they were scared stiff. "My name's Arthur."

Amelia nodded and her eyes widened, as if to say "yes, I know exactly who you are, and it's terrifying!" But she looked a little more relaxed now, as if she had realised that Princes were humans too, not scary monsters.

"How long have you been in here Amelia?" Arthur asked, looking around the bare room.

Amelia shrugged, "I ran in here when the floor moved," she mumbled, curling up into a tighter ball again at the memory of when the ground started shaking.

Arthur put a comforting arm around the little girl, "don't worry Amelia, it's all over now, we've come to rescue you."

But Amelia wasn't comforted, "Mummy told me to go and find her to help her with work," her voice was hardly louder than a mouse, "but I never got there." Her eyes began to fill with tears again.

"Well, don't worry, we'll find your mother and make sure she's safe. I'm sure she wants to know that you're safe too."

Amelia nodded in agreement.

"Do you know where the Great Hall is?" Arthur asked her.

Amelia nodded again.

"I want you to go there, they'll be people there to take care of you." Arthur informed her gently.

Once more, Amelia nodded, but she didn't move, there was a pause.

"Would you like me to take you there?" Arthur asked eventually.

Yet another nod.

Arthur tried to hold back a sigh, there were many other things to do, but he needed to make sure the little girl was all right.

He stood up, and Amelia did the same. She looked tiny by his side, but it seemed he had finally gained her trust, as she stood close to him, as if aware that he'll be able to protect her.

The two of them began making their way to the Great Hall, Arthur talking to Amelia all the way to try and give her comfort and to take her mind off what was going on around her. It seemed to be working; Amelia's responses were growing from not just silent nods, but to actual words, and even sentences. Arthur learned that her mother worked as a maid in the castle, and sometimes she helped with little jobs because they needed the money. Her father was apparently still 'at the farm', where ever 'the farm' was.

Their conversation was interrupted however, when a servant suddenly ran up to Arthur, his eyes wide with panic and he was panting as if he had run from the other side of the castle.

"I'm sorry to interrupt my Lord," the servant said to Arthur, glancing down to Amelia and then up to Arthur again "it's an emergency."

You didn't need to be a genius to read the panic in the man's face, so Arthur nodded. He turned to Amelia, and knelt down to her height.

"I'm afraid I have to go Amelia, will you be able to get to the Great Hall on your own now?"

Amelia looked afraid at the news that her new protector was going to be leaving her on her own, but she nodded silently again, even she could tell that the situation was serious.

"Good," Arthur smiled, he watched Amelia walk slowly down the corridor before turning to the servant, his face creased with worry. "What is it?" He asked.

XXX

Merlin felt like just sitting on the cold stone floor forever, as if it would help settle in his mind the realisation of what he had just done, or make the pounding in his head cease, neither worked.

He couldn't believe that after all these years of keeping his gifts a secret; he had used magic right in front of Arthur. He wished he had stopped and thought of perhaps a different way to get everyone out the Great Hall, but lost in the moment, Merlin could only think of one thing to do. And now he was in big trouble.

He had no idea when he woke up that morning he was going to betray his secret, and yet here he was, sitting on a stone floor, the world falling to pieces around him, and the back of his head throbbing.

Through the haze of his thoughts, an outstretched hand suddenly appeared before Merlin. He looked up to see Sir Leon standing there, and to his surprise, there was a smile on the Knight's face.

"Need a hand?" Sir Leon offered.

Merlin smiled back at him and took the offering, pulling himself back onto his feet. But then he looked worriedly at Sir Leon. He was a loyal Knight of Camelot, he wouldn't approve of magic any more than Arthur did, but to his surprise, Sir Leon laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to execute you on the spot, I'm not that sort of Knight."

"But…" Merlin began, "surely you're at least surprised?"

Sir Leon shrugged, "I had a hunch," he grinned, and Merlin suddenly saw a side to Sir Leon he had never really seen before, a more liberal, friendly one. "You're really bad at keeping secrets Merlin," he joked.

Merlin smiled, he had a good point. But his face fell a little when he saw the state of Sir Leon, he was still bleeding.

"Perhaps I should have a look at that," he began, reaching towards Sir Leon's open wound, but he backed away.

"It's fine," he assured Merlin quickly.

Merlin raised an eyebrow, feeling a lot like Gaius, and was about to reply, when he heard someone shout his name from down the corridor.

As he turned, Merlin saw Arthur running down the corridor towards him, and he felt himself go pale. Arthur was coming back to get him.

But when Arthur got closer, he realised he wasn't angry any more, in fact he looked terrified.

"Arthur, what is it?" Merlin asked.

Arthur grabbed onto Merlin's sleeve, panting, "Merlin you have to help me!" He cried desperately, it seemed that the whole magic incident had completely been forgotten.

Merlin stared, he had never seen Arthur like this, he never thought he would get so scared and panicked. Merlin opened his mouth to ask a question, but Arthur answered it for him:

"It's Gwen, please you have to help me, it's Gwen!"


	10. Gwen

_Reviews much appreciated (:_

Chapter 10 – Gwen

Gwen wandered listlessly down one of the castle's many corridors in the east wing. The castle seemed so quiet that day, or maybe Gwen thought that because she was too busy lost in her own thoughts. Things were changing in Camelot, and Gwen wasn't sure if she liked what changes were happening.

Morgana had been changing a lot recently, she had started become a new person, as if she had found or realised a side of her she never truly knew she had. The trouble was, Gwen felt like this wasn't a good change in Morgana, it was a bad one, she was becoming darker, more mysterious, and Gwen didn't like that.

Morgana's change was affecting other people too, as Gwen had noticed whenever Morgana was mentioned; Merlin's eyes suddenly seemed to fill with concern and doubt. The change wasn't just scaring Gwen, it was scaring her friends too.

It wasn't just Morgana who was changing. Uther had been becoming more and more paranoid, as he seemed to do every year. However Gwen found herself afraid to go near him unless she had to, for she feared of being accused of magic again, it had happened once, it could happen again, and everyone around her could be accused as well, not matter how innocent.

And then there was Gwen herself too. Gwen felt like she was changing from the inside out, because every time she saw Arthur, she felt like she had fallen from a great height, and her heart started beating hard inside her chest.

The trouble was, Gwen didn't want any of these changes to happen. She wanted Morgana and Uther to stay as they always were, they were better that way, and even though being with Arthur filled Gwen with a strange sort of happiness she had rarely felt, she knew the two of them could never be together. Her emotions were wasting her time, and would just lead to tears. And when Gwen thought of Lancelot, it gave her so much confusion she felt like her heart was already breaking.

What Gwen didn't know, was that the biggest changes were yet to come.

Gwen came to a stop when she realised she had been so lost in her thoughts she had been pacing up and down the same corridor over and over again, completely unaware of what job she had to do next. Letting out a deep sigh, Gwen stared out the window that sat in the middle of the corridor. She leaned her arms on the windowpane, and looked out at the life of Camelot. People strolled past the ancient structure, busy with their own work and their own thoughts, some coming into the castle, some coming out. Guards stood by the entrance, their faces partly hidden by the helmets they wore, so no one truly knew what they were thinking.

Everything was normal; everything was just as it should be.

Until the crack.

There was a horrible splintering and creaking sound, and Gwen realised that the glass before her eyes had begun to break. A thin crack was suddenly growing in the centre of the window, right in front of Gwen's noise. Surprised and slightly disturbed, Gwen stumbled backwards, wondering what could have made such a strange thing to happen.

It was then that Gwen realised that the world was quiet, too quiet. It was as if everything had just stopped, frozen in time, waiting for something.

But then there was a shout; loud voices from outside the window, Gwen rushed to it again, not sure why she suddenly felt the need to run. People down below her sounded just as confused as she felt, calling to each other and gesturing. She heard a few distorted shouts, voices suddenly loud as if they were afraid of something:

"Did you feel something?"

"What was that?"

"The ground—"

Suddenly, Gwen started to feel it too, the ground was shaking. As soon as she realised every second that passed, the shaking got worse. Everywhere around her the world was trembling, soon it felt like it was about to collapse.

The shaking became more and more violent, and Gwen suddenly found it hard to stay upright. She stumbled into the centre of the corridor, but had to hold a hand out and lean against the wall to stop herself from falling.

A great rumbling sound echoed in her ears as the ground continued to shake, and Gwen suddenly found that she too was shaking, shaking with fear, as her whole world turned upside down.

There was another horrible crack, louder this time, and a huge line suddenly emerged down the whole corridor, the floor was shaking so badly it was about to pull itself apart. Gwen could tell by the screams from outside that it wasn't just happening in the corridor.

As soon as the dust started trickling down from the ceiling, Gwen knew she had to get out, she didn't know where was safe, but anywhere had to be safer than this corridor, and her instincts shouted at her to run, run!

Gwen lifted her heavy yellow skirt a few inches off the ground so she didn't trip over it, and began to run down the corridor. She continued running forward, not truly aware of where she was going, thinking if there was perhaps somewhere she could hide until everything passed. People ran around her in all different directions, screaming. But for some reason Gwen kept on running in a straight line, as if it was the only direction she was sure still existed.

There was a stair case at the end of the corridor, Gwen wondered if she should perhaps climb down them and leave the castle, get outside, or even underground into the dungeons, anywhere where the roof might not collapse on top of her. But the corridor had suddenly turned into a never-ending tunnel, and she couldn't reach the end in time.

Gwen had almost reached the staircase; she had almost made it, when there was another horrible crack. The ceiling had almost completely split open, and was crumbling down. Huge rocks fell to the ground, narrowly missing Gwen, and throwing up dust in her face.

Frightened, confused, disorientated and unable to keep much balance, Gwen stumbled backwards. Part of her mind was telling her to turn back and start running, to find another way out. Another part of her was telling her the whole castle might be like this, the whole castle might collapse, was there even a fighting chance?

No, there was always a chance.

Gwen turned around, hoping to make one final bid for freedom, her thoughts suddenly turning to the fact that she had to keep on running, and there was only one thing, one person to run to – Arthur.

But Gwen had hardly run a few yards when the whole ceiling collapsed.

Huge boulders and pieces of timber fell all around her, bringing up so much dust and confusion Gwen didn't know which way to turn. She looked up just to see a huge rock that was once part on the ceiling falling down on her head.

The last thing Gwen remembered doing was screwing up her eyes, and holding her arms above her head in a bid to protect herself. There was a horrible scream from somewhere in the distance, loud and echoing, then suddenly Gwen realised it was her scream, she was screaming.

Then everything went black.

XXX

When Gwen woke up, she thought she was dead.

All around her was darkness, blackness, she couldn't see anything, she couldn't feel anything, the whole world was silent.

But then Gwen realised that this wasn't what death was like, she had never believed that death would be like this, and she was still breathing, if you were dead, you wouldn't need to breath.

It was something much, much worse.

She had been buried alive.

The thought of this brought panic surging through Gwen, and she started to scream. She pounded the walls that were surrounding her, trapping her in this darkness as she cried for help and with fear. But her cries were horribly small, and there was no way she could free herself from this prison.

Gwen tried to twist her body, but she was pinned down by something in the darkness, she tossed her head from side to side, hot tears running down her cheeks, the only thing she could feel. Whenever she moved too quickly or cried out, dust filled her mouth and eyes and made her choke.

But then Gwen saw something: a light through the darkness.

It was only small, a little glimmer, a shred of sunlight, creeping in through the rocks surrounding her. The sight gave Gwen comfort, as if she knew it wasn't the end of everything, there was still hope if there was still light. Suddenly she fell still and she stopped screaming.

The shred of light helped Gwen remember why she was there. The ground had started shaking and the ceiling had collapsed on top of her. She must have been knocked unconscious, but now she was awake. She was alive, but she was trapped.

The question was, what now? There was no way Gwen could free herself from this prison; she could almost feel the intense weight of the rocks on top of her her, surrounding her. It was enough to make her start panicking again, but Gwen forced herself to remain calm. Someone would come soon, someone would find her, someone would get help.

But how long would that be?

Gwen lay in the darkness, she still couldn't feel anything, and she didn't know if she had been badly injured or any part of her body had been trapped by rocks or wood. She just focused on her breathing, focused on the light, and listened carefully for any sign of life around her, so she could call out for help again.

Gwen wasn't sure how long she lay there, with only silence for company, and she had now idea how she managed to keep herself so calm. She just thought of all the things that were worth fighting for, worth living for.

As Gwen was started to believe again that help would never come, she heard footsteps. Someone was coming down the corridor, when the footsteps stopped, she imagined that the person had halted just before the pile of rubble that lay before them.

Did they know that there was anyone living within it?

Gwen carefully turned her head, and saw through the crack of light a pair of feet. By the trailing leather and tatty shoes the person was wearing, she knew that it was a servant.

"Help," Gwen called out weakly, ignoring the dust that trickled into her mouth as she spoke.

The servant didn't move, but Gwen took that as a sign that perhaps they had heard her. She tried again, a little louder.

"Please, can you help me? Help me!"

There was a short pause, then:

"Is someone there?" Gwen breathed a sigh or relief, she had been heard.

"Yes! I'm here! Please help me!" Gwen cried out; the servant's uncertain voice gave her more hope and energy to call out louder.

"Oh my— is there someone in there?" The servant called out, and Gwen watched as the feet came a little closer.

"Yes, yes! Please, I can't move!"

The servant bent down, and looked through the gap in the rubble. Gwen could just see a young man with a pale face and short hair peering in, when their eyes met, his widened with horror.

"No…" he began, clearly shocked and horrified to find that there was someone alive within the rubble. This made Gwen feel worse, she hated to think how much was piled on top of her. "That isn't possible…you're alive."

In other situation, Gwen would have laughed at the obvious statement.

"What's your name?" The servant asked, a slightly more appropriate question.

"My name is Guinevere, Gwen."

There was another short pause, "Gwen, I've heard of that name, are you Morgana's maid?"

"Yes, yes I am!" Gwen called out. "Please, you have to get some help! You have to get me out of here!" She could hear panic in her voice again.

"I…" it sounded like the servant was panicking too, he didn't know what to do. "I came from the Great Hall, there were other people there as well, and Prince Arthur, they might be able to get you out."

_Arthur._ Arthur was alive. Gwen didn't know what had happened to the rest of the people in the castle, but the fact that Arthur was still alive raised her hopes once more.

"Yes Arthur! Go and get Arthur, tell him it's Gwen!" Gwen cried out, louder than before, and not caring if she was being rude.

The servant could hear the urgency in her voice, and didn't have to be told twice. Her turned and ran out the corridor, leaving Gwen alone in the darkness again, but hope in her heart.


	11. Rescue

_Warning: This chapter contains some romance, which I am dreadful at!_

_Thanks for all the reviews so far, please keep them up! (:_

Chapter 11 – Rescue

It was hard for Gwen to tell how much time passed while she was trapped, but she felt that it could only have been a few minutes before she heard the running footsteps of at least two people, coming to a halt just before her. She turned her head and saw two pairs of feet, one of them she had a feeling was the servant's again, the other stood just behind the servant, so she couldn't quite tell. But there was only one person she wanted to be with her.

"This is where I found her," spoke the voice of the servant, his voice full of worry and panic. He spoke as if he had expected Gwen to have somehow moved from the position he had last left her. Or maybe he thought that by now she was dead.

The figure behind the servant hesitated for a few moments, as if he was too afraid to get closer to the rubble, but eventually he did move, walking around the servant and coming closer to the rubble. He bent down to the only gap there was in Gwen's prison.

Gwen and Arthur's eyes met, and despite everything, Gwen smiled.

"Please tell me that is you Arthur," she said, hating the way her voice sounded horribly weak.

Arthur didn't reply at first, his face was completely blank, but his eyes showed a thousand different thoughts, ranging from panic to confusion to sorrow. Did he think he had already lost her? Then Arthur moved even closer, he went down on his knees and reached a tentative hand through the gap. Gwen could feel the warmth of his hand, but his fingers couldn't quite reach her, and she couldn't move a hand to reach his. All she could do was stare at it with her tear-stained face.

"Gwen?" Arthur's voice was barely louder than a whisper. It seemed he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. But he would never tell Gwen that actually he couldn't believe she was still alive.

His hand stretched out a little further, and he managed to stroke Gwen's face, he was relieved to feel that her cheek was still warm. Gwen smiled at the feel of his touch, and it rose hope in her heart, but the look in his eyes gave Gwen little hope at all.

"Please tell me you can get me out of here?" Gwen murmured, suddenly finding herself trying to hold back a sob. She had to focus all her attention on Arthur's touch, or else she would start focusing on the darkness closing in around her, and that would drive her mad.

The pause after Gwen spoke was enough to drive her mad as well.

"I'll do something," Arthur said, his voice a little louder this time but lacking the usual self-confidence he had. "I promise Gwen, I'll find a way to get you out of here!"

There was another pause, shorter this time, Arthur was probably thinking faster than he had ever thought before. "I'll get Merlin, Merlin will help!"

"Merlin?" Gwen couldn't help being confused, Merlin was not the strongest of men in Camelot, how could just two men help with such a situation?

"Trust me Gwen, I'll be back as soon as I can," Arthur assured her, he sounded a little more confident this time, but his tone was still desperate.

"Just be quick," Gwen found herself telling him in a whisper. She hadn't even admitted to herself that she was scared, but truth be told she had never felt more terrified, even though Arthur was there beside her. A tear trickled down her cheek before she could stop it, and it dripped onto Arthur's fingertips just as he was stroking her face for one last time, and drawing away.

"I promise, Gwen, you're going to be fine," Arthur told her as he withdrew his hands, rubbing the single tear between his fingertips. He could only just see Gwen through the darkness, it was more like a silhouette than anything, and yet he hated to leave her. Feeling her tear, made his heart break.

But every moment Gwen lay under there, her life might be dwindling away, he had to do something.

After what seemed like an age of just standing there, Arthur ran back down the corridor to the Great Hall.

XXX

Merlin had never seen this panicked side of Arthur, and he was partly glad of it, as it surely meant that nothing good would come out of it. He found himself almost being dragged down the corridor by Arthur, still pulling at his sleeve. Sir Leon looked just as surprised as he watched.

"Would you like me to come as well my Lord?" Sir Leon called after Arthur.

Arthur shook his head, "no it's fine, I just need Merlin!"

Despite the fact that Gwen was in trouble, Merlin tried to dig his heels into the ground to stop Arthur (which, on a stone floor, turned out to be impossible.) "This is about my powers isn't it Arthur," it wasn't a question.

"That might be a possibility," Arthur admitted, still trying to drag his manservant along, causing a few stares from passers by despite the situation they were in.

"So what are you going to do with me later then, after I've helped Gwen?" Merlin asked sternly.

Arthur shrugged, "I don't know, execute you or something." This probably wasn't true, Arthur wasn't thinking straight, he was too busy thinking about Gwen, there was no time for standing and talking, Gwen needed help.

But Merlin couldn't take the risk. As soon as he heard this, he stopped dead, and pulled himself out of Arthur's grip, a serious look on his face. "Sorry Arthur, if good deeds done by magic is going to lead to my death, then I might as well not even try." He folded his arms as if to prove his point.

Arthur looked furious at this; there was no time for standing around being stubborn! But he supposed Merlin had a good point, he couldn't just forgive and forget for the next few minutes and then go back to his views before, it wasn't right. Besides, was magic that bad after all? Especially if it could be used by someone like Merlin to save a life…

Arthur sighed, "all right, you are not in any danger if you use magic for good. If you show me magic can be used to save a life, I will never judge you harshly because of your powers."

Despite everything, Merlin smiled. This was what he wanted to hear, and even if it meant Arthur still didn't feel completely comfortable with magic, it was still a start.

"All right then," Merlin said, strangely casually. "Where is she?"

At these words, Arthur grabbed Merlin by the sleeve again, despite the fact that Merlin didn't need dragging any more, and ran to where Gwen was trapped. Merlin found himself running as well just to keep up with the Prince.

On the way there Merlin was beginning to feel a little worried. He didn't know how bad Gwen's situation was, what if his magic wasn't powerful enough to save her? He might lose her forever, and then Arthur would never forgive him. He tried his best not to think about this.

They finally reached Gwen's prison at the end of a long corridor, and Merlin couldn't help but gasp.

Boulders were piled up to the ceiling; in fact it looked like the entire floor above them had collapsed. Fortunately there had not been anyone on the floor above it, or else there would be another casualty. There was a spiral staircase on the other side of the pile of rocks, but it would have been impossible to tell, as the rubble blocked all view of the other side. All around the walls, ceiling and floor were cracked and broken by the force of the earthquake and when the boulders fell to the floor. How could anyone survive that?

But it was possible, the bottom of the huge pile was not completely filled with rubble, there were huge pieces of timber that had blocked off many of the rocks from collapsing on each other, and there was one small gap within the ruins. It could be possible for someone to survive if they hadn't been crushed…possible.

As Merlin stood and stared, Arthur ran towards the wreckage and bent down so he was able to peer inside the gap.

"Gwen?" Arthur's voice suddenly became small and gentle, as if he wasn't panicking at all. Merlin knew he was doing that for Gwen, she wouldn't want to hear him panicking. He watched as Arthur reached a hand through the small gap to reach for Gwen.

There was a pause, and then, "Arthur? You're back?" The weak voice of Gwen replied, she sounded fearful, but grateful that help had arrived.

"Yes, and Merlin's here too."

Merlin stepped forward when Arthur said his name, and knelt beside Arthur so he could try and see within the pile of the rubble. He thought he could just make out Gwen's shape.

"Hello Merlin," Gwen tried to make it seem like it was any other day when she passed Merlin and gave him a greeting. She did sound happier to know that more friends were there, but her voice trembled a little, she was still afraid.

"We've come to get you out of here," Arthur called clearly to Gwen.

Gwen didn't reply, but Arthur saw her nod bravely. He turned to Merlin.

"Well? Is there anything you can do?" He asked.

Merlin paused, thinking. He was afraid of using magic just in case the boulders crushed Gwen, but there had to be a way. Maybe if he used a similar trick to how he got Arthur out the Great Hall. Merlin looked up to see that Arthur was still waiting for a response, staring at him with bright blue eyes filled with worry, he nodded.

"If I'm able to remove most of the boulder on top," Merlin spoke quietly so as not to alarm Gwen. "We should then be able to get rid of the rest of the rubble by hand, and get Gwen out."

"Do you think that will work?" Arthur asked.

Merlin shrugged, he wished he could feel more sure. "We're just going to have to see," he admitted.

Arthur nodded, though he too didn't look very confident.

Merlin stood up again, "there might be a loud bang Gwen," he told her, "but it's going to be all right, just don't move."

"Why?" Gwen sounded worried, and it wasn't surprising, she could see nothing but darkness. "What are you going to do?"

Merlin didn't reply, he decided there was no time to explain, and it wouldn't help the situation if Gwen was told that Merlin had magical powers, he wasn't completely sure of what she thought about the subject.

Merlin steadied himself, concentrating on the boulders above him; he didn't even notice how silent the corridor had become, with Gwen waiting, and Arthur watching. He placed his hand carefully on the rocks; he could almost feel the strength holding all the rocks in place, fragile but at the same time strong. He had been practising magic for years, he just hoped he knew what he was doing. He took a deep breath.

"_Dimittite casurus*_!" Merlin yelled at the top of his voice. His eyes flashed bright gold as he felt power pulse through his hands.

There was a nasty sounding crack, so loud it echoed in Merlin and Arthur's ears. At first it looked like nothing had happened, but within the wreckage all the rocks, stones and boulders were cracking, breaking away into tiny little pieces. Merlin watched as the boulder he was staring at grew a huge crack and then simply started to crumble. He felt the immense strength within his hands, and with the combination of the weakened rocks, the wreckage could be simply pushed away.

All the rubble that had been piled on top of Gwen began rolling away, and within a few moments it was tumbling down the spiral staircase that sat just on the other side. There was a horrible crashing sound that made Merlin wince as the rubble reached the bottom, but the rocks were cleared, and when he looked down only a few rocks and pieces of timber were lying there.

"Gwen! Are you all right?" Arthur cried out; quickly bending down and frantically pulling away the last pieces of rubble that was trapping Gwen. Merlin bent down and started helping too. Each piece of rubble that was moved away, they could see Gwen more clearly.

Within less than a minute, the last pieces of wreckage had been cleared, and Gwen was free.

*_Meaning break away, fall apart._


	12. Arthur and Gwen

_I'm afraid there's more gooey romance in this one! And yes I'm still dreadful at it! I hope you're all Arwen fans! lol_

_Please review (: (only 2 reviews for the last chapter ): )_

Chapter 12 – Arthur and Gwen

Dust filled Gwen's nose as the rocks were hastily pulled away, causing her to cough and splutter. Bright light filled her vision as she was finally freed from the darkness that had been her prison. She gazed up at her two rescuers towering above her – Arthur and Merlin, their faces blurry at first but slowly becoming clearer as her eyes got used to the sudden bright light.

At first Gwen did nothing but stare, because she wasn't sure what to do. She was finally free, but the process to get her free had left her speechless.

Gwen knew magic when she saw it, or rather, heard it.

"But…" Gwen looked from Merlin to Arthur and back to Merlin, "how did you…but that's impossible…"

Despite her stuttered speech and broken sentences, Arthur seemed to know what she was talking about.

"I know," he said, bending down suddenly and sweeping Gwen up into his arms and lifted her up into the air as if she weighed less than a feather, and as if he did this sort of thing every day. "I only just found out as well."

Merlin looked a little guilty, but like Arthur he was more concerned about the health of Gwen than his own welfare when it finally hit her that he had just used magic. He opened his mouth to ask Gwen if she was all right, but Arthur got there first:

"Are you hurt?" He asked as he began to walk swiftly down the corridor, while carrying his precious load.

"I'm fine…" Gwen murmured, still busy thinking about how it was possible for Merlin to use magic.

Gwen certainly didn't look fine. She was covered in dust, and small pieces of rubble were still stuck in her hair. There was a large blood stain at the bottom of her dress, but Gwen had no idea where it had come from, she didn't even know it was there. She couldn't even feel anything, and yet now she was free she was able to stretch her legs and arms, well, stretch as much as she could while Arthur was carrying her. Gwen just hoped that is was shock that was preventing her from feeling any pain, and tried to turn her mind to more important things.

"Arthur, you really don't need to carry me—"

"Yes I do," Arthur snapped at her even before Gwen was able to finish her sentence. His face was hard and determined, he didn't care what Gwen said, he was going to take care of her.

"I'm sure I can walk—"

"I don't want to take any chances."

"Princes shouldn't be seen carrying around maids," Gwen pointed out, her eyes glancing to Merlin, who was trying hard to ignore this conversation, as he knew what Arthur thought about Gwen.

"Really? I'll have to make sure I change that law when everything's over," Arthur commented as brightly as he could when his heart was weighed down with worry.

Gwen sighed, "really Arthur, you should put me down—"

"No I shouldn't," Arthur interrupted, "we don't know the extent of your injuries, it's best that I take you to the Great Hall myself, and then people can take care of you, and that's final!" Arthur snapped as Gwen opened her mouth to argue.

She sighed again; Arthur clearly wasn't going to put her down. And she had to admit, despite the embarrassment of it, she didn't mind. Gwen loved being in Arthur's arms; she wouldn't have it any other way.

"It was horrible Arthur," Gwen suddenly found herself saying, though she didn't know why. She felt like she wanted to just break down and burst into tears, good thing that Arthur was carrying her after all. "The ground just started shaking, I tried to run but—"

"Don't worry Gwen," Arthur said a little too firmly, he didn't want to think about what she had just gone through any more than she did, "it's all over now."

"I just don't understand what happened," Gwen murmured. She was sure that everything was fine one minute, and then falling to pieces around her the next.

Arthur was about to tell Gwen that he had no idea what had happened either, but then Merlin suddenly spoke. "I talked to Gaius," he explained as they walked down the corridor. "I found out that we had something called an 'earth quake', where the ground just starts shaking. No one knows why, but they say it happens every hundred years and only animals can sense the danger."

"Well at least it happens every one hundred years," Gwen muttered to herself, glad that that was at least some good news, Arthur gave a small smile in agreement.

But Merlin hadn't finished. "It's not the end of the earth quake though," he began.

At this, Arthur stopped dead. Still holding Gwen in his arms he turned to stare at Merlin. His face showed a mixture of fear, disbelief and a little anger that Merlin had not told him this information before. "What do you mean, not the end?" He demanded.

Merlin felt slightly intimated by the look in Arthur's eyes, but he continued. "There are smaller earth quakes after the big one for a few hours."

Gwen went slightly pale at this news, picturing everything happening all over again, there was no chance those sort of things could be described as 'small'. Fear making her abandon her morals, Gwen put her arms around Arthur's neck and rested her head against his chest for more security and comfort. His grip around her tightened a little as he looked down at her shattered and fearful face.

"Yes thank you for that information Merlin," Arthur said, though he didn't sound grateful at all, it had just made Gwen feel a lot worse. "But speaking of Gaius, I think you should go and tell him what happened, Gwen may be in need of his skill."

"Right, yes of course!" Merlin said quickly, wondering why he hadn't thought of this sensible suggestion already, and it would give Arthur and Gwen a bit of peace and quiet. In any other situation, he would have given a cheeky grin at the thought, but instead he suddenly pelted down the corridor to Uther's chambers.

Arthur watched him go, and let out a sigh. "Well that's got rid of him," he commented. He also didn't mind the thought of him and Gwen getting some time alone, he began to walk down the corridor, slower this time.

Gwen smiled as she looked up at his face; "you didn't really want to get rid of him did you?" She asked.

Arthur shrugged, "no," he admitted, "but it's strange how things work out…"

Gwen smiled again at this. Arthur looked down at her, and his bright blue eyes lit up when he saw her smiling face, and could see that there was no pain in her beautiful hazel eyes. But then the happiness in his eyes faded a little, and he turned to something a little more serious.

"It's probably best he wasn't around anyway, I don't know how long I can stay in the same room with him before loosing my mind and ripping his head off," he growled.

Arthur's warning of such violence surprised Gwen; his eyes were suddenly clouded over with fury. "Do you hate him from using magic?" She asked gently.

Arthur sighed again, a sad sigh this time. "Yes, partly. But he's not evil, so how can I be angry with a good person? It's just the fact that he kept it secret for all these years, that he got so close to me and Uther, knowing that the use of magic was forbidden. He was putting himself into trouble, I don't know if I'll be able to let him stay as my manservant when all this is over. It's only a matter of time before Uther finds out, or I get angry and start accusing him of practising magic." Arthur couldn't be sure, but he had been told he had a temper, and he could picture it happening.

There was a short pause, where Gwen continued to rest her head against Arthur's chest, listening to the silence that was no longer eerie, but peaceful, and the soft beating of the Prince's heart.

"What do you think about his magic anyway?" Arthur asked suddenly.

"Erm," Gwen was slightly surprised by the question, she had only known about it for a few minutes. She shrugged, and then regretted moving as she felt a dull ache suddenly creep up her shoulders. Being trapped underneath the wreckage was starting to catch up with her. "Well I'd always known there was something…different about Merlin, but I would have never have guessed he had magic. But he's a good person, and too many innocent people have been killed because of magic," an image of her father flashed in her mind as she said this, "and I don't want Merlin to get hurt because of it."

Arthur nodded, Gwen had a point, and he had been thinking a similar thing. It was just…so hard to believe.

There was a short spell of silence.

"Thank you," Gwen suddenly said softly, another small smile on her face. She was beginning to feel as exhausted as she looked.

Arthur was surprised by this sudden comment; "what are you thanking me for?" He asked.

"You came and found me," Gwen explained, her voice small.

"Of course I came for you, I would do anything for you. I couldn't stop thinking of you when the ground was shaking." Arthur told her, honesty filling his voice.

"You saved me from the darkness," a tear trickled down Gwen's cheek. Everything was over, and yet she still felt the fear that had rocked her soul.

Arthur brought her face up to his so he could kiss away the tears. "And I won't let the darkness get you again," he promised.

They had been talking for so long, the journey to the Great Hall was almost over. Gwen was silent for the rest of the way, her eyes closed. Arthur wasn't sure if she was asleep, but he didn't want to disturb her. He carried on walking until they reached the battered entrance of the Great Hall.

The Great Hall had already completely changed during the time Arthur had gone. A group of people must have gone around the chambers, or found some spare beds, as there were at least ten of them lined up in the middle of the Great Hall, and about twenty chairs scattered around as well. The huge table had been moved to the side, some sitting on it as others attended to their wounds. There were candles everywhere as well, as the day begun to fade but everyone tried to keep hold of the light. There were about thirty people in there, most of them casualties. The little girl Amelia was standing in it all, preparing bandages for the injured, Aldwin lay in one of the beds, still asleep, but there was a spare bed near by.

Gwen realised that they had stopped, and opened her eyes, "what is it?" She asked.

"Nothing," Arthur assured her as he began walking again, making his way through the Great Hall to the spare bed. "But there are lots of other people that need help and my father's trapped in his chambers so he can't retain order. I need to help and try and keep control of everything, but I don't want to leave you." He said the last part quietly as he reached the bed and lay Gwen gently down on it.

"Don't worry," Gwen said gently, smiling now her tears had dried, "I understand." She didn't want Arthur to go, she wanted a friendly face within the madness, but she understood that there were more important things to do.

But Arthur was still reluctant to leave. He made sure that Gwen was comfortable and promised that he would see her as soon as he could. He was sure she just needed some sleep now, but he felt like he should be by her side.

Just before Arthur left, he bent down so he could kiss Gwen gently on the cheek, and then he whispered in her ear:

"I love you."

Gwen had had her eyes closed, but she felt his warm lips and his warmer words. She was surprised and disbelieving, but at the same time knew it was true, as she felt the same. She opened her eyes and was about to reply, but she realised that Arthur had already gone.


	13. Magic

_Since we're just over half way through this fic, I thought it might be nice to have a quick reminder on the things that have happened so far, just in case you've forgotten (it happens to me a lot! Lol) I've planned out what's going to happen in the rest of the fic, but if you want something particular to happen and the fic to last a little longer, just review giving your suggestion and I'll put it in (: I thought putting up a reminder might help you think about what you would like to see happen. I'm open for all ideas!_

_Of course if you don't need to read the reminder, I will not be offended if you skip it, I understand if some of you might find it irritating (:_

_1. Merlin and Morgana encounter each other in the corridor just before the earthquake strikes, when it does, they both flee._

_2. Merlin escapes the collapsing ceiling, but Morgana is buried beneath it…_

_3. Arthur also manages to escape serious harm and flees to the Great Hall_

_4. Gaius and Uther on the other hand, are trapped in Uther' s chamber, Uther goes into shock_

_5. Merlin finds Gaius and learns about earthquakes, he also realises that Geoffrey is missing_

_6. Arthur is also trapped in the Great Hall, Merlin is so desperate to get him out he uses magic_

_7. Arthur reacts badly, but has to accept Merlin's powers to help save Gwen trapped under a pile of rubble_

_Well that's 12 chapters in a nut shell, which would have saved us a lot of time! Haha. Hope you're enjoying the fic, would like to know what you think so far (:_

_A bit of a short chapter this one, and to be honest, I think it's rubbish, but I couldn't think of anything to improve it! ): Please tell me what you think to help me improve! Thanks (:_

Chapter 13 - Magic

By the time Arthur had left Gwen, Merlin was already reaching Uther's chambers. The huge piece of timber was still blocking the doorway, which meant that Gaius and Uther were still trapped inside. But suddenly Merlin felt like this was no longer such a terrible thing. Using his magic in front of Arthur had suddenly boosted his confidence, despite the amount of danger he had potentially put himself in, he felt that he should no longer be worried about using his magic. He had always been told that he should use magic only when it was the last option, and in this situation, what other options were there?

He had made his decision even before he had reached the door.

"Gaius?" Merlin called through the wooden door, suddenly worrying and wondering if Gaius was still safe inside the chamber, but there was nothing in there that could hurt him…apart from maybe Uther.

Gaius had been sitting on Uther's bed, deep in thought, wondering what was going on on the other side of the door. He even thought about using magic just to get out, but when he looked over and glanced at Uther, he decided that more than one strange magical occurrence in one day might be too much for him, he still looked a little shaken up.

When Gaius' heard Merlin's voice, he leapt up and rushed over to the door, he wondered why the young Warlock had returned, he had told him to go and find survivors, had he found all the survivors he could?

"Merlin, are you all right?" Gaius asked.

"I'm fine," Merlin called back, "but I need your help."

Gaius sighed, "I would love to be of assistance Merlin but there is no ideal way of me getting out of this chamber."

"But it's about Gwen,"

Gwen? Immediately Gaius felt worried. Everyone had a soft spot for Gwen, everyone likes Gwen, _apart from perhaps Uther_, Gaius thought as he glanced back at the King. Now he felt trapped more than ever, unable to help a friend he had watched grow up in Camelot for years.

"What happened?" He asked.

"She got trapped underneath the rubble, I managed to get her out but she could have been trapped under there a long time, she needs a physician. There are other people as well, the castle is full of people that need help, I can't do it by myself." Merlin explained hurriedly.

But Gaius had spotted something in that explanation that Merlin had tried to hide. "Wait a minute, how many people managed to get her out the rubble that was trapping her to the floor?" His voice was suddenly stern.

Merlin went quiet; he knew what Gaius was referring. "Err…"

"I imagine she was in a very bad situation, which means you can't have done it all by yourself," Gaius added.

"Well Arthur helped a bit…"

"Merlin," Gaius didn't sound so relieved to see his nephew any more. "What did you do?"

There was a pause, but Merlin knew there was no point in lying. "I had no choice Gaius! Everyone was trying to help everyone else, Arthur couldn't have done it by himself either, and it was too dangerous—"

"Hold on, _Arthur _was there?"

_Uh oh, _thought Merlin, he had said too much. "It was only a matter of time when he found out Gaius, it just happened to be at that particular time. But if magic is going to save lives then I'm going to use it." Merlin spoke with more determination in his voice as he went on.

"Magic?" Said a sudden voice, and Gaius turned around to see Uther slowly pulling himself out of his corner, the shock on his face being replaced with anger. "Did the boy just say magic?" He asked with gritted teeth.

If Merlin thought he was in trouble before when he revealed his magic to Arthur, he hated to think what Uther was going to be like. This time, he _really_ had said too much, he just hoped the King didn't realise he was talking about his own magic.

"He doesn't mean it in that way Sire," Gaius said quickly, although he doubted there was any other meaning for the word 'magic' in this situation. He stood in front of the door, as if he thought that Uther was going to burst through them and try to attack Merlin.

"There is no magic in my Kingdom Gaius," Uther growled, "haven't you seen what it has already done? What it is doing now? Magical creatures want this Kingdom, and they were prepared to shake the earth to get it…"

Suddenly, Merlin had had enough. He was fed up of Uther saying over and over again how bad magic was, how it had to be stopped. This was no time to be worrying about magic, there were lives at stake! Why couldn't he just open his eyes and see that maybe magic wasn't that bad after all? Why couldn't he just think about the amount of innocent people he had put to death because of his paranoia?

No, because the guilt would kill him.

And now it sounded like Uther was going to take his rage out on Gaius, and Merlin wasn't going to have any of that.

Before Gaius could say anything else, to either stop Merlin doing anything stupid or Uther doing anything crazy, there was a loud bang. Suddenly the door that had been preventing their freedom since the earthquake, burst open with such force it was knocked off its hinges and fell to the ground at their feet. Merlin stood in the doorway, golden light just dying away from his eyes. He didn't look afraid of Uther any more, he looked determined.

Uther stared at him, at first horrified and confused, but then furious and scared. For a few moments he seemed to forget about the earthquake that had left him hiding in one corner like a frightened child. He pulled himself up to his full height, his eyes filled with fire.

He began to advance towards Merlin.

"GUA—" Uther started to yell, a finger raised towards Merlin as if he was some horrible creature. He carried on advancing, as if he couldn't wait for the guards to take down Merlin, and of course, the guards wouldn't be listening to the cry of their King today.

With the hand he wasn't using to point at Merlin, Uther reached to the knife he had on his belt.

Merlin panicked, for a few moments, he thought that Uther was actually going to attack him. His magical knowledge turned into instinct again, and he didn't even need to utter any magical words.

A bright light suddenly burst from his hand, hitting Uther squarely in the chest. There was a look of surprise on the King's face as he was thrown backwards onto his bed. His body suddenly became limp and motionless, his eyes closed.

It had all happened very quickly, Gaius could do nothing else but stare. When he realised that the King wasn't jumping up from his bed again, he gave Merlin a very worried and angry look.

Merlin put his hands up as if to show his innocence. "It was self defence!" He said quickly as Gaius continued to stare at him. "I didn't want to hurt him, I just stunned him that's all, he'll just be unconscious for a few minutes…or maybe more…"

"And if he wasn't suffering enough Merlin," Gaius growled.

Merlin looked a bit guilty, but was just about to open his mouth to argue his defence when Gaius interrupted him.

"Don't worry, I'll just have to see to him later, at the moment, it sounds like there are plenty of other people I need to take care of." Gaius said, striding out the chamber and into the corridor, secretly relieved and grateful to be out of the room, but he was meant to be angry with Merlin, so he'd just have to thank him later.

There was a lot of work and many more things to come, gratitude would have to be put on hold.


	14. The Great Hall

_Brand new series of Doctor Who begins! :D The silence is here…oh no…_

_Anyway, going back to the Merlin world, here is chapter 14! (: A lot of dialogue, but I hope it's OK! Reviews much appreciated (:_

Chapter 14 - The Great Hall

The Great Hall was crowded. Every few minutes rescuers returned with another victim of the earthquake, who had managed to free themselves from the rubble that was preventing them from freedom or had managed to wait long enough with their injuries for help to arrive.

The people inside the Great Hall tried to see this as a good thing. There were survivors, which meant there was hope for the others still trapped in the castle. The more survivors, the better, surely? But food and medical supplies were already running low; they couldn't afford any more survivors.

Those trying desperately to help the injured felt relieved as the glanced over and saw Gaius strolling into the Great Hall, his face full of determination, Merlin following just behind him.

Gaius stopped in the middle of the Great Hall, observing the madness around him, Merlin standing by his side. There were hundreds of people in the Hall now, some lying on spare beds, looking exhausted and miserable, some sitting on the table or chairs, looking hurt and confused, others were standing around, looking lost or trying to help the injured as much as the could. Amelia was the only child, but she was acting as if she was an adult, trying her best to help the injured.

Gaius looked around for Morgana, the only person he hadn't heard any news of, but she was nowhere to be seen.

He turned around and saw the expectant expression on Merlin's face.

"Well, where do you expect me to start first!" Gaius asked, his tone exasperated, and for good reason. There were so many injured, and just one Gaius. He could already feel a headache coming on.

Merlin wasn't sure, but he felt he had to act like he knew what to do. "Start with the people on the beds, they'll be the ones needing the most help," he explained. "You need to look at Gwen, and Aldwin." As Merlin's said Aldwin's name, there was a sad look in his eye; he had just made a friend he could very quickly lose again. "They need your help most of all," he repeated with a murmur.

Gaius nodded, feeling that he should say something useful as well. "Has anyone been to my chamber to get any medicines?"

Merlin shrugged, "I don't know."

"Then that's what you can do for me, while I start looking at the damage this earth quake has caused."

Glad to have something to do, Merlin nodded, and ran to his chambers.

This left Gaius feeling horribly alone. He hadn't felt so alone for twenty years, when he had to watch houses burn and then step between the wreckage, trying to help any survivors. It was only then that he had felt so isolated, with no help at all and very few things he could do to save a precious life. He felt the same now.

But this was no time for self-doubt; there were more important things to do. Gaius pulled himself together and began to inspect the people lying on the beds.

Gwen was asleep, but when Gaius came over she awoke and was delighted to see him. She insisted that everything was all right, and apart from a large gash on her leg, she had nothing else other than some cuts and bruises. Gaius suggested that she got some rest, as the earthquake had left her feeling pretty shaken and exhausted.

Aldwin however, was more of a worry. He was still unconscious, and unlike Gwen, could not be roused. He was still breathing, but his pulse was weak and he had lost a lot of blood. Gaius redressed the wound, despite the dwindling medical supplies, and made sure the wound was clean, it looked like it, which was always a good sign. But only time would tell if Aldwin pulled through. Gaius couldn't keep all his attention on just two people; he had to make sure everyone else was all right.

As soon as he had finished checking everyone in the bed, he allowed himself to be approached by people looking for advice, bandages or medicine. He did the best with what he had, and while he waited for Merlin to return.

As Gaius was making his way through the huge crowd of injured people waiting for his care, Arthur entered the Great Hall. Gaius had never seen Arthur stride into the Great Hall as he was now, every step he took seemed to hold power, and in such a dire situation, the power looked immense. Arthur's eyes were narrowed with determination, but at the same time somehow haunted, as if he had already seen far too much. There was a bruise on his cheek, and his stride was slightly interrupted by a small limp in the foot he had twisted, but he acted as if he had completely forgotten about it.

Two servants followed in behind Arthur, looking small and weak in comparison, they had just been helping him look for survivors in the rubble.

Arthur stood in the middle of the Great Hall, and when he spoke, his voice held as much power as his footsteps:

"I have been informed," Arthur began, and everyone fell quiet to stare at him. "That there were around three hundred people in the castle when the earth quake struck, but only an estimate one hundred and twenty have been found." People glanced around at each other as he said this, and looked worried. "The struggles we face to overcome this earth quake are still yet to come, but I am determined to have found all three hundred of you, dead or alive. I want the search to be put on hold over night, but the sun has not yet descended. We need more people to help search through the rubble and the chambers, if you can lend any help, you will be helping to save a life." Arthur finished, his eyes looking over the people, his people.

If Gaius had ever doubted if Arthur would be a good King, he would never doubt him again.

At the sound of this, many people who weren't seriously injured jumped up and went to Arthur, offering their services, even Amelia Arthur replied to each one that came up to him, but had to turn a grumpy looking Amelia away. When Arthur looked up and saw Gaius staring at him, he quickly began directing them to the servants he came in with. When there was space for Arthur to move again, he rushed over to Gaius, a slight look of relief on his face.

"You got out of the chamber?" He asked as soon as he reached Gaius. He looked him up and down, he didn't look hurt.

Gaius nodded. "Merlin helped," he said grimly, knowing that Arthur could tell what was meant by this.

Arthur paused, "oh," was all he said. The expression on his face looked like he was trying to fight a hundred emotions at once, but then he quickly focused on something else. "Is my father here?" He asked quickly, looking around.

"He's getting some rest in his room," Gaius explained, telling a half-truth made him feel a little bit like Merlin. "But I've come to help in any way I can," he added quickly before Arthur started worrying about his father.

"Good," Arthur breathed, running his dirty hands through his hair, and looking as if he desperately wanted to lie down. But there was certainly no time for any sitting around, he had suddenly found himself in charge, and he'll have to stay like that until his father came.

Gaius put a comforting hand on Arthur's shoulder, "You're doing very well," he told him gently, "no one would have expected more of you in such a situation."

Arthur nodded, but he wasn't really listening, his eyes were glancing around, taking in every individual in the Great Hall. The numbers had dwindled slightly now many people had gone out to get help. The Hall seemed to have fallen quiet as well; people were trying to restrain their feelings of panic and focusing on the job in hand. The loudest sound was a muffled argument between Sir Leon and a maid. By the looks of it, Sir Leon didn't want to sit down and have his head wound looked at, he wanted to go and help, but the maid was having none of it. This made Arthur smile a little. Arthur's eyes flickered over to Gwen for a few moments, he desperately wanted to see her and talk to her, but she was asleep.

"Where's Morgana?" Gaius asked suddenly. If she wasn't here helping the injured, there was something wrong, which made him want to avoid the question, but he couldn't just wonder what had happened to Morgana.

His worries were confirmed when Arthur spoke. He too wanted to avoid the question, but he had to tell Gaius the truth. "I don't know." He confessed, his voice suddenly weak. "We're making our way through the whole castle, checking every chamber, every corridor, clearing away as much rubble as we can. It can't be too long before we find her."

The two fell silent for a few moments. Gaius tried to think of something to say, but it was difficult, especially when a good friend was in danger.

"I'd better get back to work," Arthur said suddenly, turning and about to make his way out the Great Hall.

"Are you sure Sire?" Gaius said, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop the young Prince from running off. "Don't you think it would be better to get some rest instead? I could have a look at your foot as well," Gaius added, remembering Arthur's slight limp.

Arthur shook his head, his eyes gazing out one of the few windows that hadn't been blown in. For some reason he didn't want to look at Gaius, he felt like if he did, he would give in to the temptation of rest.

"There's no time—" Arthur began, but suddenly he stopped. His eyes narrowed.

"Sire?" Gaius was concerned by the sudden look on the Prince's face; there was something new troubling him now.

"What's that?" Arthur murmured. He was still staring out the window.

Gaius turned around and looked. He could just see out of the window, some shapes, figures, moving slowly towards the castle. There looked like there were hundreds of them, and as they came closer, their shapes became clearer. They were people.

Arthur's eyes widened, and he rushed to the window.

"Oh no…" He muttered.

Gaius' thoughts were right, he had seen people, hundreds of people. They looked bedraggled and weak, as the people moved closer, their faces were troubled and sad. By the way they were dressed, Gaius could tell they were villagers, hundreds of villagers, coming from all directions towards the castle.

The earthquake had affected the whole Kingdom, and now the casualties from outside the main City were coming to a castle already low on medical supplies, food, beds, helpers and hope. How were they going to cope?

"Oh no," Arthur muttered again, and before Gaius could stop him he turned and ran out of the Great Hall, heading towards the villagers.


	15. Sunset

_This chapter is for Connortemple4evaneva, who pointed out to me that this story needs time for the plot line to just come to a halt so everyone can have a moment to stop and take a breather. This is very true, as there has just been an earthquake, so there is complete madness! Therefore I have tried to calm the speed of the plot line down for a few moments in this chapter, as we all need time to relax and watch a sunset (: _

_I'm afraid this means there's some more gooey Arwen, but I hope you enjoy!_

_And Rylie – yeah, I miss the tenth Doctor too, he was the best! ):_

_Reviews much loved (:_

Chapter 15 – Sunset

The villages confirmed what Gaius had expected; the whole Kingdom had been affected. If the castle could hardly keep standing after an earthquake, the villager's mud huts had no chance. All had a different story about them running for their lives as the ground shook beneath their feet, watching their homes collapse, fleeing from the steadily rising water of a stream. Those who could had left their village to go and beg the King for help. They hadn't been expecting to find that the castle had suffered as much as them, and it was Arthur who met them at the gates.

As soon as the villagers reached the castle, Arthur lead them into the Great Hall, so it became crammed packed with more people than before. He spent the next hour selecting villagers that were well enough to help, he gave them jobs with search and rescue, finding more beds and even sending some into the woods to collect herbs for Gaius. Merlin had returned in the middle of the commotion, with only a small number of medicines that hadn't smashed in the earthquake. There wasn't enough medicine for the people already in the castle, let alone those who had just arrived.

Seeing people in the castle reunited with the ones they loved however, made up for the feeling of despair Arthur tried to keep locked away in his chest. The best part was when Amelia found her father through the crowd. She pushed her way through the horde of people, laughing with joy and calling to him at the same time. Amelia's father pulled her up into his arms. For a few painful moments Arthur wondered why he never had that with his father, before quickly turning his mind to more important things.

This had all happened over an hour ago; the throngs of people had calmed a little, even though the Great Hall was still crowded. All those who were healthy enough to help had something to do and were keeping busy. There was a strange feeling of despair mixed with growing hope in the air now, but Arthur felt little hope as he gazed out the window. He still felt like there was countless things still to be done, but he couldn't even think of what they were. He felt pressure building up on his shoulders that would match the weight of the whole world, and why hadn't his father returned from his chamber to help him with this burden?

Arthur leaned against the windowpane he was standing in front of, gazing out the window, but at the same time he wasn't really seeing anything, his thoughts were too far away. As he thought of everything that happened, his hands resting on the windowpane curled into fists and he felt so much boiled frustration he wanted to break the stone into pieces.

However before he could do anything else but glare, a gentle hand suddenly touched his arm.

Taken completely by surprise, Arthur whipped around, to see Gwen standing there next to him, a soft smile on her face.

"You should be resting," Arthur grumbled, looking displeased to see Gwen up and about.

Gwen didn't move, she didn't even look defiant, she just stood there calmly as if he had said nothing at all, a smile still resting on her face. "I have had plenty of rest thank you Arthur, other people need that bed more than I do," she explained gently.

"But you could be hurt—"

"I am perfectly fine," Gwen assured Arthur before he could continue with his moan. "You on the other hand, haven't got any rest at all."

Arthur said nothing; there was no time for rest. He turned his gaze back to the window.

"What's the matter?" Gwen asked, concerned. Of course there were plenty of things the matter, but she could tell there was something specific bothering him at the moment.

Arthur said nothing at first, he continued to gaze out the window. "The sun is setting," he mumbled eventually. "I said at night we would have to call off the search, but there are places in the castle we have not yet searched, so many people we have yet to find." He was beginning to fee like the world had betrayed him. First with the earthquake, and then with the sun setting all too soon.

Gwen moved silently closer to Arthur, so that she too was standing by the window and gazing out.

The sun was indeed setting. It was nothing more than a bright orange semi-circle, slowly sinking into the deep green that was the fields of Camelot. It cast the sky into an array of colours, a thin yet deep veil of purple was settling in the heavens, but lower down the colours brightened, until it was filled with warm oranges and deep reds, casting shadows over everything it faced.

"But it's beautiful," Gwen whispered.

Arthur couldn't help but snort. "Beautiful? Gwen, as soon as that sun sets we will be faced with the darkest night Camelot has ever faced, probably followed by another, darker day. In the meantime people in their prison of wreckage will have to wait until the sun rises again to get any sort of help."

"You can't help that though Arthur," Gwen pointed out gently, laying another hand on his arm. "It's impossible to have people searching for survivors in the dark, even with the use of candles, and the rescuers need their rest as well."

Arthur sighed, taking his hands off the windowpane. He knew Gwen was right, those were the same things he thought when he called off the search, and yet he hated to think of the people he would be leaving trapped, and what the next day would bring.

Silence fell, even with all the movement and people in the Great Hall, it had become very quiet, or maybe that was just Arthur and Gwen's imagination. The whole world fell still when they stood side by side.

Slowly, Gwen reached forward and took his hand in hers.

"Sometimes Arthur, you have to look at the good things, or else you'll never get through these dark days." She told him, "you have done well so far, especially if you think the earthquake only occurred a few hours ago. You are not working on your own; you have hundreds of people by your side willing to help you. Yes the sunset means it's the end of the day, but instead there will be born another day, and any day must be better than this day. When the sun rises, you will still have those who are loyal to you now. You have your people, you have Gaius, you have Merlin, you have," she paused, "you still have me." Gwen finished in almost a whisper, as if she was ashamed to say it.

There was a pause, Arthur didn't say anything. Trying to hold back a sigh, Gwen decided to try something else.

"Look, that sunset," she pointed at the bright red sky, "what colour is it like?" She asked.

Arthur hesitated, before saying, "red, like blood."

Gwen had a feeling he was going to say that, but she nodded calmly and took another small step towards Arthur, so they were close enough for their bodies to be touching side by side. "Or, red like roses." She told him.

There was another pause, but Gwen could see in Arthur's eyes that he was starting to see the bright colour of red roses matching the colour of the sky. His bright blue eyes were now longer glowering, but filled with realisation.

"See, it's beautiful," Gwen said gently. "And the roses will come again tomorrow, and that will mean new hope for us all."

There was another pause, and then, Arthur smiled.

Gwen was right. Through the disaster and panic and death and fear and frustration, he could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, the wonder that was left in the sunset.

He finally found himself realising, and was grateful with the thought, that it could have been a lot worse. The whole castle could have collapsed; the darkness of the night could set in with no sun rising tomorrow and the whole City could have flooded. Arthur knew he could have been killed, Merlin could have died, or Gaius, or the Knights and even Gwen. But his friends were still alive, and the one who mattered most to him was standing by his side, a sweet smile on her face that matched the beauty of the sunset. He would have all been lost if his friends had been killed; especially if he had never got to Gwen in time, even though it turned out his trusted servant Merlin had magic.

Arthur suddenly saw that he wasn't alone in this darkness and madness, he had others around him, and they would help each other get through to the sun rise of a better day.

And there was still time to find Morgana, there was still time for his father to recover, there was time to breath.

At this thought, Arthur took in and let out a deep breath. He felt his worried float away with it. There was little he could do now, the worries and stresses can return tomorrow. For now, he should focus on the fact that his hand was still entwined with Gwen's.

Arthur looked down into her sparkling eyes. Before he could stop himself, or think about the fact that he was a Prince and Gwen was a maid, he pulled her a little bit closer, so his lips could rest on hers.

It was usually Gwen that stopped them from being so close, being most aware of their status differences. But she didn't stop the kiss, and her lips felt as soft as roses. Arthur felt like he could stay there forever, all the thoughts about the earthquake disappearing as the rhythm of Gwen's heartbeat met his own. This was the moment that Arthur knew he wanted to marry Gwen, so he could be with her forever more. He had almost lost her, and she had shown him the light through the darkness. He never wanted to lose her again, and he didn't want the darkness to return.

Pulling away gently, Arthur put his arm around Gwen, and Gwen rested her head on his shoulder. There was a wistful smile on both their faces as they watched the rest of the sun set, and darkness take over, with glittering stars and a shining moon.

All around, people paused to light candles, Merlin lighting several at once when he made sure no one was watching. Arthur and Gwen found themselves gently bathed in a yellow glow as they took the few precious moments to stand side by side and no longer feel afraid.

For now Arthur could rest, he could relax.

Until tomorrow.


	16. Sir Leon

_POPPY GIRL HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY SENT OFF TO AGENTS! :D SO EXCITING YET SCARY! ALL FINGERS CROSSED, WISH ME LUCK! :D_

_Last chapter, someone mentioned to me in a review that the aftershocks have not occurred yet and they usually should do by now. Trouble is, I have researched aftershocks, and it didn't really say how long after the earthquake they take place. Remember it's not been that long since the earthquake, there's just been a lot of chapters! But they shouldn't be long now…I have everything planned out (;_

_Feeling a bit down this week and this chapter's pretty rubbish, but reviews make me smile in a cheesy way (:_

Chapter 16 – Sir Leon

As soon as dawn broke, the whole castle broke from its peaceful silence of night and came back to life. The morning was just the same as how the day before ended: the Great Hall was still crowded, the injured still lay on beds and search and rescuers still scoured through the corridors. However the morning felt clearer, the sun brighter.

But everyone's troubles were still not over.

Despite collecting many herbs the day before for Gaius, the medical supplies were still low, and food and clean water was growing shorter as the hours went by. Almost everyone had forgotten about the fact that the aftershocks would be waiting beneath the surface of the earth, ready to reek havoc once again. But no one knew when.

King Uther had still not emerged from his chamber, so Arthur finally voiced his concern to Gaius as to why his father was not in the Great Hall. Gaius promised that when he finished looking at the injured, he would go and find Uther. Merlin had assured him that Uther would only be unconscious for at least an hour, so why he had not emerged caused Gaius worry as well. In the mean time, Arthur continued to take charge and everyone continued with the jobs they had to do, apart from a couple of people…

Sir Leon sat in the corner of the Great Hall, on the large oak table that once stood in the middle of it, watching everything.

He had just spent a sleepless night sitting in the same position he was sitting now, observing the world silently, but his mind was alive with thought. Gaius had given him medicines to help lessen the pain of his head wound and to stop the bleeding, but it hadn't worked. His wound was still open, and had the tendency to let blood trickle through his hair every-now-and-then. The throbbing that occurred because of his head however, was the worst part.

Gaius had told Sir Leon he needed to rest for the day, but he had no intention of resting for much longer.

Arthur was doing a very good job; he had taken charge quickly and efficiently. He had given everyone something to do so they could help repair this damaged castle, and also keep their mind off what was going to happen to them next, or what had happened to their loved ones. Men were steadily searching and clearing through the whole castle, bringing back more victims of the earthquake, but the number was fewer than the night before.

And that was what giving Sir Leon the greatest worry.

Sir Leon was quite a quiet person, and therefore quite secretive. No one knew much about him, because it never really came up in conversation, and he was never asked. But this didn't mean that Sir Leon had thoughts and opinions that matched the others around him.

He had never really considered magic an evil thing, and he had had a feeling for a long time that there was something about Merlin that made him different, and he did act peculiar at times. This was why Sir Leon was not surprised when he found that Merlin had magic. But there was another thing. Sir Leon had been working in the castle for a very long time now, and someone was beginning to catch his eye, more than catching his eye now. A brief passing in the corridor was enough to make Sir Leon stop and stare and forget about everything else.

Her name was Belle, and Sir Leon thought she was beautiful.

Belle had thick, wavy, deep brown hair, the colour and grandness of oak. Her eyes were an unusual, deep green colour, that sparkled whenever she smiled, and her smile was enough to make Sir Leon fall over.

Admittedly, Sir Leon didn't know that much about Belle, he was too shy to go and speak to her properly. But he knew that she was a maid and mainly worked in the kitchens, and that she at least acknowledged his existence (which, apparently, is a good sign when it comes to love). Sir Leon didn't spend as much time with Belle as he liked, as she spent most of the time in the kitchens…

The search and rescue teams had not reached the kitchens yet.

Sir Leon hadn't seen Belle since the earthquake.

With half the castle collapsing, how were they to know that the kitchen hadn't fallen down already? Leaving Belle trapped inside…or worse. Sir Leon could have lost someone he cared about without even having a conversation that lasted longer than "hello."

So why was he still sitting around here doing nothing!

With that thought, Sir Leon leapt to his feet, a little too quickly, his vision became blurry and he almost lost his balance. That was never a good sign, especially with a head injury. But for Sir Leon, he had more important things to worry about. As soon as his vision came clear again, he marched towards the entrance to the Great Hall.

Only to be stopped by an iron-hard arm clamping on his shoulder.

"Sir Leon," barked the gruff, annoyed voice of Arthur, who had far too many things on his mind than to stop his knights from running away. "Where are you going?" He demanded.

"They haven't searched the kitchens yet," Sir Leon blurted out, the words coming quickly enough to show the panic he was feeling inside. "There could well be people in there, and we need the food—"

But Arthur didn't let him finish, "I don't think you should be going anywhere Sir Leon."

Sir Leon was surprised at Arthur's words. He had no idea how pale he looked, the amount of dried blood was in his hair and the rather wild look in his eyes.

"But I—" He began.

"No buts," Arthur snapped, "you're staying here until Gaius says it's safe for you to go anywhere, understand?"

Sir Leon sighed, he very rarely disobeyed Arthur, "very well Sire," he said in a voice full of resignation.

Arthur smiled, "good," he removed his hand from Sir Leon's shoulder and slapped him on the back, "now go and get some rest."

Sir Leon nodded weakly, but didn't move. Arthur had already turned away, and didn't realise that Sir Leon was still frozen to the spot, and that he had no intention of staying in the Great Hall a moment longer.

As soon as he was sure the Prince was occupying himself with something else, Sir Leon hurried out the Great Hall and rushed down the corridor to the kitchens.

XXX

The corridors got emptier as Sir Leon made his way closer towards the kitchens. The people he had passed thought nothing of a knight almost running down a corridor, he probably had as much to do as they did, and they didn't really notice the wound on his head, despite its severity.

Sir Leon was glad that no one had stopped him on his journey to the kitchens, because he wasn't sure how much time he could afford to waste. Getting up and moving around was already taking its toll. Sir Leon hadn't realised how bad his head wound really was, but he had the feeling it was more serious than he had first considered as his vision blurred whenever he turned a corner, and he found himself worn out easily.

Sleep was steadily become more appealing than rushing all the way to the kitchens, with every step Sir Leon took he felt like energy was bleeding out of him. His was feeling weak, his legs unbalanced. He had to focus all his energy on where he was going and what he was going to do, and not the growing tiredness or thumping pain in his head. He had almost fell down a spiral staircase when his vision suddenly blurred.

By the time Sir Leon reached the kitchens, he had to hold onto the wall for support. Lack of sleep and loss of blood was definitely creeping up on him now, and he was even beginning to regret his journey from the Great Hall.

He didn't need Gaius to tell him something was badly wrong now.

But then he thought of Belle's face, and knew that if he didn't do anything, worse things may happen.

Taking deep breaths, sweat trickling down his forehead, Sir Leon pushed himself off the wall and stood up straight. The door to the kitchen was only a few metres away now; and he walked slowly up to it.

Reaching the door, Sir Leon pushed against the thick, heavy wood, and it came as no surprise when it didn't open. If it had been able to open, the maids and the cooks would be in the Great Hall. Sir Leon looked up to see the stone ceiling just above the door had caved in a little, preventing it from opening.

Doing exactly what Merlin had done the day before at Uther's chamber, Sir Leon pressed his hands against the wooden door and called out.

"Hello?" Sir Leon hated how his voice sounded horribly weak. He wondered if anyone in there could actually hear him. "Is there anyone there?" He called out a little louder.

Silence, but then –

"Hello? Who is that?" A small voice, a reply. Sir Leon couldn't tell who it was who had replied, but all he needed to know was that someone was in there, and that they were alive.

"I've come to get you out," Sir Leon called out hurriedly, there was no time for introductions. "How many of you are in there?"

"Five," came a shaky voice, it was a woman's voice, she sounded frightened. "We tried to get out, but the door's jammed…"

Sir Leon pressed himself against the door and pushed as hard as he could. Such a small movement caused his vision to blur and caused a shock of pain to travel all through his body; he gasped in pain but kept on pushing. The door didn't move.

"You're going to have to help me," Sir Leon called out, "pull on the door as hard as you can." There was no time to get any help, he could feel his wound was bleeding again, the siren of sleep was getting louder…

There was slight movement from behind the door as the five people in the kitchen moved into a position behind the door so they could all pull it open. Sir Leon waited for a few moments until the soft noises died down.

"On the count of three…" he shouted, his voice was sounding weaker, but he kept focused on what he had to do. "One, two…three!"

With all his might, Sir Leon threw himself against the door and pushed as hard as he could. Grunts escaped from his lips as pain rocketed through his head and he used the last of his energy pushing against the wooden door. From the other side, five people grabbed hold of the door and pulled as hard as they could.

For a few moments, Sir Leon thought it was going to be hopeless, the door wasn't going to move at all. But then there was a strange crunching noise as the door came loose, and a couple of seconds later, it swung open.

The sudden movement from the door caused Sir Leon to stumble backwards. His head was pounding as he tried to stay on both feet, but the feeling in his legs was fading away. _That can't be a good thing, _Sir Leon thought dimly.

At least his vision was still clear, just. Through the haze of his mind, Sir Leon could just make out five women, three maids and two cooks by the looks of it, standing there at the doorway, staring at him with surprise and a little bit of fear.

"Sir Leon?" Said one of the maids softly, Sir Leon recognised her deep green eyes, it was Belle.

"You have to get to the Great Hall," Sir Leon panted. He really needed to sit down now, but he was finding it hard to tell where the floor was, it was like the earthquake was happening all over again – everything was moving around in a very odd way. It was all becoming too much. "You'll be safe there…"

He could hardly finish his sentence; the whole world was falling into a strange, blurred fog. Belle's green eyes lost within them. But there was something else, something coming out of the fog - darkness. Sir Leon hadn't felt so tired in all his life, and now the darkness was closing in around him.

Sir Leon hadn't even realised he had collapsed to the floor, he didn't hear Belle's gasp of horror, all he was focused on was the darkness, coming closer, consuming everything.


	17. Aftershock

_Well, as you've probably worked out from the chapter title, the aftershocks are finally here! A few hours late, it turns out. I didn't know when aftershocks occurred after earthquakes, I have been told they start after a few minutes and I didn't know! I remember watching the news on the Japan earthquake that the aftershocks started a day/ a few days later, and they lasted about a week. Then again, it wasn't exactly a normal earthquake…_

_Anyway, my point is, sorry, I got it wrong! I hope it doesn't bother you too much, fanfics are written and read for fun, does it have to be perfect and match real life? I hope not, because this is far from a perfect chapter! :S_

_If any of you are interested, I have updated my profile with some information about Poppy Girl, just in case you were curious to know more, or had no idea what I was talking about on the last update! Lol_

_Reviews much appreciated (:_

Chapter 17 - Aftershock

Arthur let out a groan. He had turned his back on Sir Leon for two minutes and the man had disappeared, he wasn't anywhere in the Great Hall. He had disobeyed orders and gone running around the castle in a condition that wasn't good for walking let alone running! The worse thing was, Arthur couldn't go and find him, he had too many other things to do, too many other things on his mind. There were people to take care of, the injured to look after, and people he had to stop from falling into complete panic. Everyone had to hold together; or else everything would fall apart…

Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, Arthur didn't have to wait long to find out what had happened to Sir Leon.

A maid, one Arthur had not seen yet since the earthquake, came bursting into the Great Hall. Thick, dark hair flew out behind her, and her green eyes were filled with fear. Belle paused for a few moments, Arthur watched her, it looked like the maid was observing the scene, or looking for someone. When her eyes fell on Arthur, she seemed to decide that he was a suitable person for whatever he purpose was, and she rushed over to him.

"My Lord," the young maid panted. Her clothes and hair were in disarray, but this was no time for politeness or respect. "Please, you have to help me."

"What is it?" Arthur asked, thinking that he had plenty other people to help, but this woman was clearly in distress.

"It's Sir Leon," Belle explained between deep breaths. "He came to the kitchens, he got us out…but then he collapsed, we can't wake him up…"

Much of this small sentence didn't make sense to Arthur. He had no idea what Sir Leon was doing down by the kitchens, or who 'us' was, but what he did understand, was that Sir Leon was in serious trouble.

Arthur glanced around the Great Hall, there were so many things to be done he had just been thinking about how he couldn't just abandon everything to look for someone. But now he knew where Sir Leon was, and he knew a loyal friend was in need of help, so everything else would have to wait for a few more minutes.

Merlin looked up from his work helping Gaius, to see Arthur rushing out of the Great Hall, followed by a young maid.

"Arthur," he called to the young Prince, confused as to why there was a sudden rush. "Where are you going?"

Arthur glanced behind him when he heard someone call out his name. "Stay here, I'll be back," was all he had time to reply as he ran out into the corridor.

Merlin sighed. _Great_, he thought, _Arthur was the only one giving out instructions, and now he had just ran off and disappeared._

Maybe he had found Morgana…

Merlin certainly hoped so.

"Where did Arthur go?" Said a sudden voice beside Merlin. He turned to see Gwen standing beside him, a look of concern and perhaps even suspicion on her face. Perhaps she didn't like to see Arthur running off with a pretty young woman. "I'm not sure, but I'm sure he'll be back soon, we haven't got anything to worry about." Merlin assured her quickly, although he felt like there were plenty of things to worry about now the only person acting like they had control of the situation had disappeared.

Gwen gave a small smile in hopeful agreement, but they were both about to find out that Merlin had spoken too soon.

There was a distant rumble, like a roll of thunder following a streak of lightning that was miles away. However the sound started to grow louder, as if the thunder was coming closer…

Merlin and Gwen cast each other worried and confused looks, Gwen opened her mouth to say something, but she never did, as all of a sudden, the ground started shaking again.

Everyone in the Great Hall froze as they felt the stone floor shaking under their feet. They stared around, eyes wide, wondering what to do. They had all thought it was all over, could it really be happening again?

The beds and chairs started to shake along with the ground, and there were a few screams as some descended into panic. A sudden urge to flee filled the room like smoke from a large fire, and yet everyone was too scared to move.

Gwen gasped in horror as flashbacks raced through her mind of the ceiling collapsing on her once again, trapping her in the never-ending darkness. She stumbled backwards, almost falling over; Merlin caught her just in time.

"It's OK, everything's going to be OK," Merlin called over the rumbling of the earth, hugging Gwen tightly, he could feel her shaking with fear.

But then, as soon and suddenly as the ground started shaking, it stopped.

A collective sigh of relief filled the room. This earthquake was not nearly as bad as the first one, and there didn't even seem to be any damage. It had only lasted for a few seconds, but fear seemed to stretch those seconds into hours.

"What was that?" Gwen said between harsh gasps, trying to prevent the panic rising within her. She was glad she was in her friend's arms, giving her protection and comfort, she just wished Arthur hadn't ran off.

At this point, Gaius hurried up to her and Merlin. He also looked startled, but he knew what had happened.

"Is everyone all right?" He asked, looking around the Great Hall before his gaze fell onto Gwen's panicked eyes.

Merlin nodded, "we're fine, just a little shaken." He paused. "The earth quake's repeating itself isn't it?" He said in a low voice, hoping that Gwen hadn't heard him.

Gaius nodded grimly, "it was bound to happen at some point, but I don't know when or if it's going to happen again, we'll just have to sit and wait—"

"There's going to be more than one?" Gwen gasped, panic building up inside her again.

"It'll be all right Gwen," Merlin assured her quickly. "They won't be as big as the first one, we'll be safe."

_But will the castle be able to cope with any more damage? _Merlin thought to himself, but he didn't say anything aloud, he didn't want to worry Gwen. The Great Hall seemed fine, but what about the chambers and the corridors where the ceilings were already cracked and crumbling?

What of the others still lost within the walls of the castle?

As if she was reading his mind, Gwen suddenly pulled herself away from Merlin and looked around the Great Hall.

"Why isn't Arthur back yet?" She asked in a small voice.

XXX

Arthur followed the maid through corridors and down stone staircases, and found himself breaking into a run. The young maid was leading him deep into the castle, where the kitchens were. Arthur was glad of the guide, he had never been down to the kitchens before.

They found Sir Leon just at the entrance to the kitchens, surrounded by four other very worried looking women. They backed away, frightened, when they saw the Prince approaching. As soon as Arthur saw Sir Leon lying on the ground, a small puddle of blood around his head, his eyes closed, he immediately got down on the floor beside him, wishing he had brought Gaius with him, but it had all been a bit of a rush.

"What happened here?" Arthur demanded, looking up at the women around him.

"He just…collapsed," said one of the women, by the look of her clothes, Arthur guessed she was a cook. Her dark hair was done up in a tight bun and she had small, dark eyes, she would usually look quite stern, but today her face was full of worry and fear. "The door to the kitchen was jammed, he helped us get out, but then he just fell down. He had told us to go to the Great Hall, so I sent someone there for help," she glanced to Belle as she said this.

Sir Leon really didn't look good, he was deathly pale, his head wound was still open and despite the commotion around him, he hadn't woken up.

Arthur put his head against the Knight's chest; he could just about hear the man's heart still beating slowly. He sat up again, feeling frustration growing inside him. He had told Sir Leon not to go anywhere, to rest, why didn't he listen?

"Come on Sir Leon, wake up," Arthur muttered, shaking the Knight by the shoulders as gently as he could, but there was no response.

"Is he going to be all right?" Asked Belle in a small voice.

"I don't know," Arthur hesitated, "he'll have to see Gaius, it—"

Arthur never managed to finish his sentence. He suddenly became aware of the fact that the ground he was kneeling on was rumbling, just like it had the day before…

The women could tell it was happening as well, as panic flickered into their eyes and they glanced around wildly, as if looking for the cause. One of the youngest women, a maid who had not spoken yet and looked like she was only in her late teens, gave a small squeal of fear. A friend put an arm around her, but there was nothing that could comfort this situation.

A few of them began backing away, as if they were planning to run.

"Don't move!" Arthur shouted, he didn't know why, but something told him that they shouldn't run, it would just make things worse.

As soon as he had said this, however, the shaking stopped. The world returned to normal as if nothing had ever happened, a few flecks of dust came down from the ceiling, but that was it. Everything fell silent, as if waiting for the next attack.

But Arthur didn't want to wait around to see what was going to happen next. He leapt onto his feet and, with difficulty, picked up Sir Leon, who still hadn't woken up, and placed him over his shoulder. Sir Leon was a lot heavier than he looked, and the added weight made Arthur's ankle, which he had twisted the day before, twinge with pain, but he ignored it.

"Everyone to the Great Hall, you'll be safer there," Arthur told the maids and cooks, although he had no idea why he said this, he had no idea if the Great Hall was the safest place to be at the moment. Was anywhere safe?

He was about to leave, but then he hesitated. "Wait," he said suddenly, making the five women freeze on the spot, "bring as much food as you can from the kitchens with you," he commanded, "we're going to need it."

The young women nodded and quickly hurried back into the kitchen. Apart from one, the same one that had alerted him of Sir Leon's whereabouts. She had her arms folded and a determined look on her face; Arthur didn't like the look of that.

"Aren't you going to help?" He demanded.

Belle shook her head, "I'm not leaving Sir Leon," she said sternly.

Arthur sighed; there was no time to argue. The girl clearly cared about Sir Leon, and he could understand if she didn't want to leave him. He simply nodded, and began making his way back to the Great Hall.


	18. Dreaming

_This chapter is for Gina Frodo H, who mentioned that she wanted this to happen a couple of chapters ago and I've managed to fit it in! (I'm sure she'll work out what I'm talking about as the chapter goes on! lol) So another plot-pausing and romantic Arwen chapter, don't like it, blame her! Hehe, but hopefully this means that the plot will speed up a little afterwards (:_

_The chapter ends rather abruptly, and I don't really like it. If anyone could give me some ideas on how to improve it, it would be much appreciated (:_

_Please review (:_

Chapter 18 – Dreaming

Gwen stood silently in the middle of the busy Great Hall, watching Arthur. He sat slumped on a wooden chair, his face pale from exhaustion, making his bright blue eyes stand out amongst his other features. It had been three hours since the first aftershock. Just minutes after Gwen had asked for Arthur's whereabouts, he had rushed in, carrying Sir Leon on his shoulder and followed by the same young woman who had taken him from the Great Hall. After putting Sir Leon down on a bed, he had raced over to Gaius, and it looked like he was almost begging for his help.

Things were looking darker than ever, Gwen didn't even approach Arthur as he, the young maid and Gaius talked over Sir Leon. She didn't one to disturb him from his important duties; she just stayed silently next to Merlin. But then there was a commotion just outside the Great Hall, and four other women arrived – two maids and two cooks, all carrying handfuls of food.

It was a huge relief, even though Arthur hadn't told anyone that there wasn't any food left in the Great Hall. There was a collective rush towards the food from anyone still able to stand, but the food had to be rationed. When it ran out, people would have to go back to the kitchens to fetch the rest, but for now Arthur didn't want anyone leaving the Great Hall unless they were part of a search and rescue party. At least there was one less thing to worry about; no one would spend the next night going hungry.

But now, after the rush of food, a strange calm had settled over the Great Hall again, although everyone was still tense, waiting for another aftershock.

Sir Leon was still unconscious, but Gwen supposed that this wasn't surprising, he looked even worse than Arthur when it came to the pale features and he had lost a lot of blood. Her mind returning to the young Knight, Gwen tore away from her standing position, and went over to Gaius, who was standing by Sir Leon's bed, checking his pulse.

"Is he going to be all right?" She asked quietly.

Gaius didn't look up, even though he knew Gwen was talking to him. "He's strong," he said eventually, "let's just hope he's strong enough. He's lost a lot of blood, but there's a special herb that is supposed to stop bleeding, I've sent someone out to get it."

Gwen nodded, and glanced over to the young maid who had been sitting beside Sir Leon since she had entered the Great Hall, she looked frozen to the spot as Gwen had a few moments ago. Belle's eyes were full of stubborn determination, as if she refused to allow Sir Leon to die, but when her eyes met with Gwen's, the fire inside them died down a little, and she gave a small, friendly smile, which Gwen returned.

Belle said nothing, but somehow nothing was needed to be said, they both knew how the other was feeling, they were both worried for ones they cared for, ones that society dictates they shouldn't care for as much as they did.

"Did Arthur get any sleep last night?" Gaius asked suddenly.

"Err, I'm not sure." Gwen was surprised by the seemingly random question. "I had a few hours sleep, but I think he was up most of the night."

Gaius nodded, "I thought so," he said in a matter-of-fact voice, "because it looks like he's fallen asleep to me."

"Oh…" Gwen glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough, it looked like the Prince had sunken even lower into his chair than before and bits of blond hair drifted in front of his closed eyes. "I'd better go and see if he's all right," she said quickly, turning and hurrying over to him.

"Tell him I had told him he needed to rest when he wakes up," Gaius called to Gwen in a strangely casual voice, his attention turning back to Sir Leon.

Gwen looked down on the sleeping Arthur, and couldn't help but smile. The worries etched on his face had disappeared now he had fallen asleep; he looked calmer and more peaceful. Gwen liked to see this part of Arthur again; she was beginning to miss it, and was wondering if it would ever return after the earthquake.

Suddenly, Arthur stirred, "Gwen, is that you?" He asked in a low mumble.

Ah, maybe he wasn't asleep after all.

Despite everything, Gwen felt slightly embarrassed that she had been caught staring at Arthur, especially that it wasn't from a subtle distance. She glanced around to make sure no one else had noticed she had been staring at the Prince, before replying gently;

"Yes Arthur, it's me." Gwen whispered. She was about to apologise for disturbing him, when Arthur spoke again:

"I think we've run out of apple pie."

Maybe he was still asleep after all.

"I think there are more things to worry about than apple pie," Gwen couldn't help but laugh.

Arthur's brow furrowed when she said this. It appeared that he was in a light sleep, as he could hear Gwen's voice, and could tell that she was standing there, but he was acting as if he had forgotten everything about what had happened over the past two days. However this was probably a good thing, as it wasn't haunting him in his sleep.

"Shame," Arthur sighed deeply, his eyes still closed. "I could do with some apple pie."

Gwen chuckled, "as soon as this is all over Arthur, I'll make you an apple pie." She said gently.

She was about to leave it at that and let Arthur sleep in peace, but then he said something else that made Gwen freeze on the spot.

"That would be nice," Arthur mumbled, "I don't think you've cooked in our kitchen yet."

_Our? _Gwen stared at him. Nothing belonged between her and Arthur, they didn't share anything, it wasn't possible. The only way Arthur and Gwen could share anything was if they were married, and Gwen had always assumed that was never going to happen. "I'm…I'm sorry Arthur, I didn't know we had a kitchen."

Arthur's brow furrowed again at this reply. "Yes of course we do," he said, sounding annoyed. "I made sure it had a big kitchen."

"What had a big kitchen?"

"The house I built you."

Gwen's mouth fell open, she couldn't think of anything to say to that. Arthur was thinking of building her a _house? _Well, he was in his dreams.

Arthur seemed to sense the long silence, despite the fact he was asleep, and sighed.

"Oh, I haven't had it built yet have I?"

Gwen shook her head, even though Arthur couldn't see her.

"I only just thought up of it," Arthur mumbled. "Well, it's a good idea anyway,"

"It's a lovely idea," Gwen told him, a smile replacing her expression of surprise.

There was a pause, Arthur shifted a little in his chair, for a few moments Gwen thought he was going to wake up, but his eyes remained closed and his chest moved up and down calmly with his deep breaths.

"Gwen?" Arthur said suddenly.

"Yes?"

"Will you marry me?"

It wasn't very often that Gwen was left speechless several times in one conversation, but now was certainly one of those times, and this question almost made her fall over.

Her eyes grew wide as her mind suddenly became a whirl. Had Arthur really just…No. He's a Prince, she's a maid, how many times had she told herself that, and how long had she known that nothing was possible between them? Every time Gwen was with him she knew that one day he would have to be with someone else, someone with his status, and it would rip her apart. But these grim thoughts had suddenly been given the opportunity to disappear forever, as she would be with Arthur forever.

Was that really possible?

But Arthur was just dreaming, and most of the time, so was she.

"Gwen?" Arthur repeated, he looked worried that she hadn't replied to his question.

Gwen quickly tried to gather herself up, to reply, but what could she say? She longed to say yes, but the truth is it would never happen, if she was honest she would have to say no. But what should she say?

"I…I would love to Arthur." Gwen said quietly.

Arthur smiled, "good," he sighed. "I wouldn't want to live my life with anyone else."

It would be hard to think of what good could come out of such a mighty natural disaster, but Gwen had suddenly found her future improving. If the earthquake hadn't happened, they probably she and Arthur would have never had this conversation, even if one member of the conversation was asleep…

However the romantic moment wasn't allowed to last much longer, as suddenly Gwen had the horrible, but now not unusual, sensation of the ground trembling beneath her feet. A great rumbling suddenly echoed through the Great Hall as everything started shaking along with the ground.

It was another aftershock.

At first, people didn't seem as panicked as they did the first one, they knew it wouldn't be as bad as the original earthquake, and they had had one just a few hours ago. But as the seconds passed and the shaking didn't cease, but in fact increased, people started to worry. Gwen could see panicked faces across the Great Hall, considering whether to run or hide as the ability to keep standing became more difficult, and dust floated down from the ceiling.

Disturbed by the shock, Arthur's eyes suddenly snapped open, and he stumbled to his feet, looking around wildly.

"What the—" Arthur began, his voice raised over the great rumbling.

"Everyone keep away from the walls, get under something that will protect you from the ceiling!" Gaius suddenly shouted, his voice carrying surprisingly far across the Great Hall.

At this, everyone immediately started diving under the huge table, under beds, and even under chairs, in a desperate attempt to protect their heads from the ceiling. Everyone could see why Gaius had shouted out, as a crack suddenly formed on the ceiling, followed by a trickle of dust. Only he, Gwen, Arthur and Merlin didn't seek any shelter from the trembling walls and ceiling.

Merlin was several feet away from Arthur, which was probably a good thing. Arthur didn't notice how Merlin's posture as suddenly changed, how he stood upright and looked suddenly taller, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. If the ceiling to the Great Hall collapsed, everyone would be doomed. But not if Merlin and his magic was going to have anything to with it, he was prepared this time, he wouldn't let anyone else get lost within the rubble.

But even before anyone could do anything else, the shaking stopped. The Great Hall fell still, nothing collapsed.

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief and glanced over at Arthur, who looked like he was doing the same thing. Gwen was looking scared, but when Arthur noticed, he put a comforting arm around her and mumbled something in her ear. Merlin made his way over to them, and saw that Gaius had left his patients to do the same.

"Is everyone all right?" Gaius asked when the four of them met in the centre of the Great Hall. Around them people were slowly dragging themselves out from their hiding places, looking worried and confused.

Suddenly, before anyone could reply to say they were all right, there was a deafening bang. It sounded like something had exploded. The noise surged through the Great Hall, as if the source of it was directly beneath, and it was so loud the ground shook a little again.

There were a few screams across the Great Hall at this sound and some people tried to dive into their hiding places again. No one had been told this would happen after an earthquake.

"What was that?" Arthur yelled, his panic making his voice rise.

"I don't know Sire," Gaius admitted, "it has nothing to do with the earthquake I'm sure."

"What's the matter Merlin?" Arthur asked suddenly.

Merlin blinked, he hadn't realised the strange feeling he had inside him was showing on his face. The strange feeling was that he felt like he was connected to the bang, the same feeling he got when powerful magic was used. But how could that be? He had nothing to do with it…

"Nothing," Merlin lied quickly.

Arthur looked like he didn't believe him, but it looked like for once he had got away with lying, as Arthur turned his back on him and instead looked to Gaius.

"Sire, my father's spent too long in his chamber, no one's reported him coming out—" Arthur began, his eyes full of worry.

Gaius nodded; he knew where the Prince was going. There had been two aftershocks and now a mysterious explosion over almost two days, and yet no King, it wasn't a good sign.

"Please, can you see if he's all right?" It didn't sound like Arthur was asking any more, more like imploring for help.

"I'll go and check on him now Sire," Gaius said quickly. The lack of a King was worrying him, and soon it would start worrying others too. But if he was going to see the King, he had to do it in a hurry, he didn't want to be stuck in the middle of a corridor when there was another replica of the earthquake.

Without another word, Gaius turned and hurried out of the Great Hall, taking his thoughts and worries with him.


	19. Quiet

_I'm afraid this will be my last update for a little while. The exam era is upon us, and that means that very soon I will be having my A level exams. This also means I will have very little time to do any fanfic writing and updating, and I'll probably be very stressed as well, so then the chapters won't be any good either! _

_Therefore, I'm afraid I'm putting a hold on this story for the next couple of weeks. I'm really sorry, I hope you can understand my reasoning, and I promise that by the end of May I will have started updating again! _

_You never know, by the time the next chapter is up, I might have got a reply for Poppy Girl! But what we will know for certain is, I'll be 17! :O_

_So anyway, my apologies once again. Thanks for all the reviews so far, please keep them up! They will cheer me up while the exam pressure is on (:_

_Bit of a short and sudden chapter I'm afraid, and some people may find it a little OOC, but it is slightly AU, so we'll just have to accept it._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy! I hope you'll all be back in a couple of weeks to read some more!_

_Naisa x_

Chapter 19 - Quiet

Quiet – it had been an odd theme over the past two days, Gaius thought to himself, as he made his way down a quiet corridor. While there was noise and life the castle such as the Great Hall, there was somewhere else left deserted and silent, as people fled to the only place they thought would be safe after the earthquake.

The search and rescue parties were still going on, but not down this corridor, and messages from those doing the search and rescue were becoming quieter.

Quiet is usually peaceful, but at the moment it was making Gaius feel uneasy, and he regretted delaying his visit to the King. He even wondered if he should have stayed inside the chamber with Uther, but he was needed in other places. For once, the King wasn't the most important person in Camelot, each person was just important as the other.

Reaching the King's chamber, Gaius was surprised to see that the door was wide open, but when he peered in, the King was still inside, and he wasn't in a good state.

Uther was pacing continuously up and down his chamber; he looked like he had been doing so for hours. His eyes were wide and alert, as they always were when he believed that some magical foe was hiding round a corner. His head was down, staring at the cracked stone floor, his hair and clothes were scruffy, as if he hadn't bothered to look after himself, or maybe he didn't know what he looked like.

The chamber was also in a very bad state; it looked like it couldn't take much more strain from the earthquake and aftershocks. The ceiling and walls had huge cracks within them; they looked like they were crumbling away…

Gaius wasn't sure how long he stood there, hovering in the doorway, watching Uther, but it wasn't very long, as Uther's head suddenly snapped up as if he sensed that there was someone standing there.

"Gaius!" Uther's loud voice ripped through the quiet that had been hanging in the air. He stopped pacing for a few moments, but immediately began again. "I haven't slept a wink…"

"Are you quite well Sire?" Gaius asked tentatively. The answer was clearly no; Uther was acting very strangely. Gaius had always known the King was paranoid, but he hadn't considered that his mind was on the brink of madness…

"Well, I haven't slept since that warlock placed a curse on me," Uther continued. Gaius wasn't sure if that was an answer to his question, or if his question had been completely ignored. "I should at least be grateful the servant didn't kill me—"

"The servant had no intention of killing you Sire." Gaius said quickly.

Uther stopped dead. His ice-cold eyes became fixed on Gaius, and fury bubbled within them. Gaius immediately regretted speaking, and it wasn't very often he felt frightened in front of the King, despite his tyrant nature.

"He lives with you doesn't he, you look after him?" Uther said in gritted teeth, his voice a dangerously low, angry tone. "I hope you weren't aware that you were hiding a traitor to the Kingdom under your own roof?"

Gaius hated lying, but this was a good time to ignore that hate. He shook his head quickly. "No Sire, but—"

Before Gaius could even try to argue Merlin's defence, Uther was restlessly pacing like a caged animal again.

"I felt the power he held within him Gaius!" Uther cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "And that, that _monster_ is still loose within the walls of Camelot! I haven't dared left my chamber, I tried alerting the guards to this deadly presence, but none obey my commands! That warlock must have taken out the soldiers and guards." Uther's mind suddenly flicked to more important things. "Have you seen my son Gaius? Arthur could be in great danger, I know he trusts that servant—"

"Your son is perfectly well Sire," Gaius said quickly, raising his voice so he could be heard over Uther's rant. At least this time it was partly the truth. "And so is everyone else, I know you are in shock due to the earth quake, but Merlin is not a monster, he—"

But Uther interrupted before Gaius could give Merlin a fighting chance. "He must have caused the earth quake Gaius! There is no way such a terrible thing could have been caused by nature alone, it was magic! Sometimes I feel the ground shaking again, and I know that nowhere is safe in the City any more! What if the warlock has accomplices within the castle? The whole Kingdom could be infested!"

Gaius took a deep breath. "Sire, you have to calm down," he said firmly. "We must not be too irrational in a time of crisis. Merlin did not cause the earth quake, and I do not believe that he is dangerous. If he was a threat to Camelot, surely he would have made his attack a long time ago?"

The pause after Gaius had spoken told him he had made a good point, Uther had even stopped pacing, but the King could not be easily persuaded.

"That's the most mysterious thing Gaius," Uther said in a strangely calm voice, "we do not know what happens within the minds of these magical beasts, the warlock could have been lying in wait to attack for years, waiting as his power grows…"

"There is no warlock powerful enough on this earth to have caused the ground to shake!" Gaius couldn't help his voice raising even more with frustration. He had no time to persuade the King out of this spell of madness.

Uther looked Gaius straight in the eye, one of the few times he had done so since Gaius had entered his chamber.

"How would you know, Gaius?"

Gaius hesitated. He could tell that this was more than a question, it was a threat.

It was never a good idea to stand up for someone suspected of magical powers, even Arthur struggled to do such a thing, and Gaius was steadily sounding more like he was standing up for Merlin, which meant he could quite easily be accused of aiding Merlin as well.

But before Gaius could reply, the worse thing happened.

The ground began to tremble again.

"You see Gaius!" Uther shouted out over the rumbling of the earth, as the whole room shook from the force of the aftershock, despite the fact it was only a small one. "Camelot is no longer safe! It will soon fall through the very Earth!"

But Gaius didn't reply. He wasn't feeling so worried about Camelot at the moment, he was more focused on the King's chamber. He was staring up the broken ceiling.

"Gaius!" Uther yelled, "are you listening to me!"

Gaius didn't reply, instead, he suddenly ran towards the King's upturned table, put it back on its feet, and then dived underneath it.

Uther stared, "what are you doing!" He demanded.

"You must find some shelter Sire!" Gaius called out to him, "anything to protect you from the ceiling, it's not safe!"

This was very true. The aftershock had barely started and already the ceiling was bleeding dust and the cracks were growing, within moments the ceiling could be tumbling down.

But Uther stood his ground.

"Sire!" Gaius shouted desperately, holding onto the table leg to prevent it from falling over. "There is no time for debate, you must find some protection!"

"They have made me hide in my chamber, but they will not make me cower." Uther said firmly between gritted teeth. "I still have some pride."

Gaius reached out a hand towards Uther, "we cannot think about pride when your life might be in danger! Please Sire—"

But Uther backed away at the sight of Gaius' outstretched hand. "No!" He shouted, "they do not frighten me!"

Then there was a crack.

Just above Uther's head, the ceiling had finally given in to the pressure of the past two days.

Rocks began to tumble from the ceiling; Gaius could feel them bouncing off the table he was hiding under. He cried out to the King to get away, to hide, but Uther was frozen to the spot.

It all happened very quickly, Uther stood there and just stared up at the ceiling, shock on his face as he saw his world quite literally falling apart.

Just before the aftershock had come to an end, a large stone fell from the ceiling came thudding down on top of Uther's head.

There was another crack, but not from the ceiling this time, and Uther suddenly fell backwards onto the cold stone floor.

Seconds later the shaking faded away, and quiet fell again.

Gaius pulled himself slowly out from underneath the table, aware that most of the ceiling was still in one place and above his head, but it might only be a matter of time before it collapsed completely, he needed to get out.

But the second crack was more important.

Gaius edged towards the King, who was lying still, his eyes closed. There was a small pool of dark red blood, a few centimetres away was a stone stained with blood that had dealt the blow.

Gaius stopped. He didn't need to go any further. You didn't need to be a physician to realise what had happened.

The King was motionless, his chest wasn't even moving. There was not a breath left in his body.

Uther was dead.


	20. The Great Dragon

_Hello patient readers who have come back for some more of my story! I hope the three weeks haven't been too long a wait! It's good to be back writing, I was suffering withdrawal symptoms after the third day! lol_

_So, what's been going in since we last parted?_

_Well, I'm officially 17! :O…and I feel…no different than I was when I was 16…lol_

_I have done most of my exams! I won't bore you with the details of how they actually went, for now I'll just say up and down, I am glad they're almost over!_

_I got a reply for Poppy Girl…the agent didn't accept it ):_

_I got another reply for Poppy Girl, and they wanted to read more! I was so thrilled when I found this out, but only the other day I got a reply saying that they couldn't take it on. I was really disappointed and upset, it means that after thinking that Poppy Girl could actually get somewhere, I'm back to square one, lugging through lists of agents that may or may not take it on, the latter being more likely. It's made me feel really down if I'm honest, but I have to keep on trying… _

_Anyway, let's get back to the Merlin world! _

_Here's a quick reminder of what's happened in the past few chapters, starting from chapter 13, when I did my last reminder:_

_1. Merlin uses his power to get Gaius out of the room he is trapped in, but Uther discovers his magic_

_2. Gaius returns to the Great Hall to find Arthur in charge, the villagers arrive_

_3. Despite a bad head injury, Sir Leon goes to the kitchens to try and help some trapped maids, the journey and the effort is too much for him, and he passes out, the maids go and get help and Arthur, who brings him back to the Great Hall_

_4. The aftershocks begin_

_5. Uther has still not emerged from his chamber, Arthur asks Gaius to go and make sure he is all right, there is another aftershock along with a mysterious explosion while he is gone_

_6. Gaius finds Uther still in his chamber, but seeing Merlin's magic and experiencing the earthquake has made him panic and even come close to madness, Gaius tries to help Uther, but during another aftershock a rock falls down from the ceiling, hitting Uther on the head, killing him._

_I hope that came of use to some of you after three weeks of silence!_

_Anyway, before this author's note gets as long as the chapter, I'll let you read it! Hope you like, reviews much appreciated! (:_

Chapter 20 – The Great Dragon

Deep beneath the castle of Camelot, the Great Dragon, Kilgharrah, was also feeling the earthquake rattle through the earth. He was not afraid, with his long life and great intelligence, he knew exactly what was making the ground shake, or he at least knew that it was not of the aid of magic. On the contrary, the day after the earthquake had occurred; the dragon found himself filled with joy.

The chains that had been keeping him trapped in this underground prison for so long, couldn't handle the strength of the earthquake.

Bound together by magic, Kilgharrah knew that power was needed to break the chains apart, _powerful _magic, magic possessed by a warlock who had a great destiny. Kilgharrah had been biding his time for Merlin to come and free him, and frankly, he was feeling himself growing impatient. But sometimes you don't just need power, you also need luck.

When the ground started to shake, huge boulders crashed down from the ceiling of the cave. The Great Dragon, aware of the damage these rocks could cause, even for a great creature like him, tried to avoid to falling debry by flyling as far away as he could with the chains holding him down.

With a sudden and horrible crunch, a rock the size of the Kilgharrah's head came crashing on top of the chains, stopping the dragon in his tracks. The earthquake ceased soon afterwards, but he found himself hardly able to move with the chain held down by the huge boulder. If he had known that the chains were being crushed under the rock as he pondered what to do, he would have been more joyous than annoyed.

Eventually, knowing that there was complete chaos within Camelot and there was no one who would be able to stop him, Kilgharrah used a powerful breaking spell to help crack the boulder into smaller pieces. After waiting for almost a whole day, it was clear that the aftershocks weren't going to shift the rocks for him, and the power of the shocks were slowly dwindling away.

Little did the dragon know, as he watched the now smaller pieces of rock fall away, that the spell had affected the chains as well as the rock, and with the strain of the earthquake, the boulder and the spell it had all been too much.

The chain fell down useless at the Kilgharrah's feet.

At first he did little but stare, unable to believe that he was finally free. He had no intended to break the chains, assuming that it would be impossible, but even powerful magical beasts can be proved wrong.

After that, the Great Dragon didn't hesitate. He burst through the iron gates that had been keeping him in prison for so many years with a burst of flame, creating a loud bang as he went that would have been heard all throughout the castle, but Kilgharrah didn't care. He was free.

XXX

It was less than a minute since Gaius left the Great Hall that Merlin spotted it. He was staring out the window, deep in thought about what could have caused this powerful surge of magic deep within his very bones.

Outside the sky was growing dark, but Merlin had no idea what the exact time was. The bright blue of day had faded into a darker, deeper blue; there was not a cloud in the sky. But suddenly there appeared a shape, souring upwards through the air, great wings beating as it flew for its freedom.

Merlin froze. Surely it wasn't…but how many dragons were there in Camelot, in the whole world?

Merlin tore his eyes away from the window to take a quick glance around, Arthur was busy talking to a servant who was part of a search and rescue party, so fortunately hadn't looked out the window to see the great beast swooping through the sky. No one else seemed to notice either, but soon the dragon would disappear, Kilgharrah didn't look like he wanted to stay.

But Merlin didn't want him to just leave without a second glance, he still had so many questions to ask, Kilgharrah was his guide, one of the few holders to the clues of his destiny, he couldn't just let him disappear, probably forever!

Without a second thought, Merlin turned and dashed out of the Great Hall.

Arthur glanced up to see his manservant pelting towards the Great Hall entrance like he was suddenly chasing something very important.

"Merlin!" Shouted Arthur, angry. He didn't like the thought of a magical person he wasn't sure he could completely trust yet, running out of the castle without a look back. "Where are you going?" He demanded.

"Going out to get some fresh air!" Merlin called back, already almost out of the Great Hall. "I'll be back in a minute!"

"You could always open a window—" but Merlin had disappeared. Arthur sighed, his friend was random enough before he had discovered his magic, perhaps all sorcerers had that spontaneous trait within them. He supposed he'd just have to get used to it.

A chilly wind brushed through Merlin's hair as he ran out of the castle, but he hardly noticed the cold. He ran down the stone steps leading up to the castle, which were now cracked and broken. The courtyard felt horribly empty with the lack of people, and not as grand as it once was with broken statues and cracked stones in the fading light.

Merlin looked up into the dark sky, the dragon was high above his head, his long tail swishing right above him as the dragon took his new direction away from the castle.

"Wait!" Merlin shouted out, not sure if he would be heard, but he had to try. "Come back!"

Kilgharrah turned in mid air, his wings still beating gently, but he was no longer moving forward through the sky. He looked down on the warlock, who was smaller than ever, and found himself smiling.

"I'm afraid I don't wish to stay in Camelot any more Merlin, I've been here long enough!" He called down in his deep, booming voice.

"But you can't just…go!" Merlin shouted back, wondering if anyone in the castle could hear him or the dragon, he hoped not.

Even from the distance above him, Merlin could see the dragon's golden eyes staring down at him, with a look of amusement on his face.

"Why not?" Kilgharrah asked, "you know Merlin, it's better this way. I thought when I would finally get free from this prison I would teach Camelot a lesson it would never forget for imprisoning me and killing my kind, but the earthquake has done so much damage, I don't really think my wrath is needed. None of it matters now, I finally have what I deserve; freedom."

"But what about me! You can't just leave me here and tell me nothing more about my destiny, about my future!" Merlin hated sounding so selfish, but it was true.

"You know enough about your destiny from me Merlin, the rest you can find out yourself. You are more powerful than you think," Kilgharrah told him. He knew that one day Merlin would find out who he truly was – the last Dragon Lord, and very soon Arthur would become the great King he was destined to be, but Merlin had to discover these things alone, he did not need a guide.

Suddenly, another aftershock struck through the earth. Merlin stumbled, surprised, hardly able to keep his balance. Luckily it wasn't a very powerful one, and it didn't last very long. When Merlin regained his balance, he saw that the dragon was still hovering in the sky before him, a smile still on his face.

Merlin didn't know it, but Kilgharrah could sense it. Uther had just died. How strange that such a great King could die at the hands of a small rock. After all the terror he had laid on his people, vengeance came from the very home he lived in. Kilgharrah tried not to chuckle at this thought.

"That was the last aftershock Merlin," Kilgharrah explained, that was something else he could sense. His smile grew, and Merlin didn't like it. "Now, everything changes." Kilgharrah turned once more to go, but Merlin ran after him.

"Wait!"

The Great Dragon tried to hold back a sigh; soon he would have to obey Merlin no matter what, so he might as well now, even though his freedom was calling. He looked back at the small warlock below him.

"Yes?"

"The whole of Camelot is in ruins, what am I supposed to do?" Merlin asked, he realised how desperate his voice suddenly sounded.

"You'll think of something Merlin, Camelot is going to be a great Kingdom and will have a great King. It will be able to rebuild itself, and with the help of your magic, I'm sure it won't be too hard."

Merlin felt slightly suspicious when Kilgharrah mentioned his magic; did he know that Arthur had discovered it? Well, the dragon seemed to know everything.

Once more, the great dragon turned his back on Merlin. "Trust me, warlock, from now on, everything changes, but very soon you shall be a great sorcerer, and Arthur a great King by your side. Rest assured, this will not be the final time we meet."

Before Merlin could say anything else, the Great Dragon was flying through the dark sky, which was steadily turning black, away from him, away from Camelot.

Within minutes, the dragon had disappeared from sight, and Merlin was left alone on the broken stone steps of the castle.


	21. Long Live the King

_Not a very exciting chapter I'm afraid, but we're really close to beating the number of reviews I've had for a story (98)! Come one everyone, we can do it (:_

_And for anyone who's interested, I have once again sent Poppy Girl off to agents, fingers re-crossed (:_

Chapter 21 – Long Live the King

Merlin had only been back a few minutes before Gaius returned to the Great Hall. The first thing he noticed was how shaken his Uncle looked.

Arthur still wasn't impressed by the fact that Merlin had randomly ran off into the night even when he had returned. Merlin could tell by the scowl the Prince gave him when he entered the Great Hall again, surprised by how warm the inside was compared to the out. Luckily Merlin was spared by a lecture and a shout by Gwen, who distracted Arthur by asking him to help re-dress Sir Leon's head wound. The Knight was still unconscious, but his cheeks had a little more colour, and his wound had finally stopped bleeding.

Merlin wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or Gwen was distracting Arthur purposefully for him, but he gave her a nod of gratitude anyway when she glanced up at him. He then made his way over to Gaius, who had a worried look on his face that he did not like.

"How's the King?" Merlin asked in a low voice, he didn't want to worry anyone if the answer was bad news. "I hope my magic didn't do too much damage, I swear it was meant to do nothing but put him to sleep!" He added hastily. He was still feeling a little guilty about casting the spell on Uther, but what else could he have done?

Gaius looked up at him, his eyes seemed quite far away. "Any magic would do great damage to a King like Uther, Merlin," he said sternly. "But it was the earth quake that did the worst," he muttered to himself.

Merlin frowned, he didn't quite understand, or perhaps he didn't want to understand.

"Is Uther hurt?" He asked.

Gaius took a deep breath; he wasn't sure what to say. Yes Uther was hurt, he was dead! But at the same time, if he was dead, he wasn't hurt. This, for some reason, was preventing him on telling Merlin the truth. He couldn't understand why, he had told people bad news like this before, it had always been hard, but it had never been impossible, not really. Perhaps he was in shock? Or perhaps he couldn't bear the thought of telling anyone that, after such a terrible disaster, there had been another tragedy, and poor Arthur was now King.

Finally, Gaius spoke.

"Yes, but I have no cure for Uther." He looked Merlin straight in the eyes as he said this.

It wasn't difficult to get the silent message that hid in Gaius' eyes. Merlin understood, Uther was dead.

Merlin was surprised to say the least, he had not thought that the King would die, he had survived the earth quake after all. Despite this, he wasn't quite sure what to think about the King's death.

Uther hadn't been a very pleasant King, in fact, he had been a dreadful one. For twenty years people with any connection to magic were hunted down and slaughtered like animals, guilty of a crime or not. It was impossible to forgive Uther for what he had done, and even Merlin could see why some people wanted him dead, why there had been so many attempts. However at the same time, he had spent the last two years trying to stop Uther being killed. He did it because it was never right to kill anyone; he did it because he believed that Arthur was not quite ready to be King himself.

But now Uther was dead, when no one was even attempting to try and hurt him.

What had the Great Dragon told him when the ground shook a few minutes ago? With that horrible smile that Merlin did not like?

_Now, everything changes._

_Oh yes_, Merlin thought as he glanced over at Arthur, who was still sitting beside Sir Leon's bed and talking to Gwen, _everything had changed_.

"How are we going to tell Arthur?" Merlin whispered, turning back to Gaius, not wishing anyone to know what they were talking about.

Gaius sighed, "I don't know," he replied honestly. He too was feeling mixed emotions about the King's death. True, over the past twenty years Uther had been little more than a tyrant, but at the same time, he was a friend to Gaius, and he could have saved him from his death, he was sure of it. "We can't tell him now, he's got too much on his mind, he's hardly slept and he's been constantly worrying. I don't want to give him even more grief to cope with."

Merlin nodded, Gaius was right in what he said, but how he was going to keep this sort of secret away from Arthur was going to be tricky to say the least.

Silence fell between the two men. The Great Hall around them was still filled with the sound of life. Only two people knew that outside of the Great Hall, another life had been lost.

"It's not all lost Gaius," Merlin suddenly muttered, looking at the people surrounding him.

There were crowds of people, but over the days, recognisable faces were appearing amongst them for those that had been helping them

There was the maid called Belle, who was still sitting beside Sir Leon, with that look of stubborn determination on her face, even though there was nothing she could do, she didn't even seem to notice that the Prince (and now King) was sitting opposite her. The little girl Amelia, her eyes heavy with tiredness, was sitting on her father's lap, they were too far away to be heard, but by the way their lips were moving, it looked like they were singing. A few people around them started to do the same, creating a low hum, a tune of hope. The servant who had found Gwen, looking just as worried as he had first approached Arthur, was also amongst the crowds of people, looking like he wanted to run out into the castle to find more victims, but now it was dark it was not allowed. Aldwin would be lying on a bed somewhere, but Merlin couldn't see him.

"What do you mean?" Gaius asked.

"The earth quake's finally stopped," Merlin told him, "we won't even get any more copies, or whatever they're called. The castle is still standing, and it won't shake any more." Merlin found himself smiling; it felt strange, like he hadn't done it in a while.

"How do you know?" Gaius questioned Merlin. He was not smiling, but his voice sounded a little more hopeful, a little more relieved. However, he hated to say it, but he couldn't quite trust what Merlin had just said, it was almost too good to be true, and how had he worked it out?

There was a pause. "Ah," said Merlin, everything seemed to be coming at a price now, even a simple piece of information. "You know that dragon you told me about*?"

Gaius nodded, his eyebrow looked like it was about to rise again.

"Well it's, um," Merlin fiddled with his hands as he fumbled over the words to use. "It…he's, umm, sort of…escaped."

The eyebrow shot up. "Escaped?" Gaius repeated.

Merlin nodded, "afraid so. I caught him just as he was about to leave the castle and Camelot all together, he told me that it was the last 'aftershock'." He explained.

Gaius held back a sigh, he wasn't sure why he felt disappointed about the fact that the Great Dragon had finally gone, like Merlin, he relied on the dragon for advice. "Well, that's another thing that's changed now," he commented.

Before Merlin could reply to this statement, Sir Leon stirred.

Arthur, who had just been sitting next to him but was about to move away, turned back and hurried back to the bed. Belle moved closer to Sir Leon on her chair, clutching his hand in both of hers as she watched the Knight gently moving. Gaius and Merlin rushed over too when Sir Leon's eyes began to open.

The first thing Sir Leon saw when his eyes slowly came into focus, were the bright eyes of Belle, looking down at him.

Sir Leon wasn't quite sure of what to make of this strange situation he was in. The last thing he remembered was stumbling to the castle kitchens in not a very Knightly manner. Now he was lying on a bed, somewhere he knew he recognised, but it was hard to tell from the ceiling, looking up into the eyes of the maid he had been attempted to rescue. As he turned his head slowly, wincing slightly as a dull ache pounded his forehead, he came across the faces of Arthur, Gwen, Gaius and Merlin staring down at him. He didn't remember ever getting so much attention.

Suddenly, Arthur's concerned face broke into a smile, and then he laughed.

"I wish you wouldn't scare me like that Sir Leon!" He told the Knight. Arthur sounded happier than he had in a long time, and he was still laughing.

Sir Leon too, managed a smile. "I'll try not to my Lord." He said.

Everyone else smiled at this, too.

After a few minutes, Merlin knew that his services weren't really needed, Sir Leon was perfectly safe in the hands of Arthur, Gaius and Belle, and he was looking a lot better. He took the opportunity to stand back and watch the scene before him.

Arthur had been sitting, and still was sitting, next to the bed of a Knight. A Knight that was just one person, any other King would shrug their shoulders and say it wouldn't matter. But Arthur had been the one to take Sir Leon to the Great Hall when he fell into trouble, and made sure he had got the proper care. He was now sitting there, smiling, talking and even laughing with the Knight, as if there hadn't been any earthquake. Gwen sat beside him, her arm wrapped around his waist, assuming that no one would notice.

Merlin also found himself smiling at this sight. Yes Arthur was at times annoying, mean, a prat even. But the Great Dragon had told Merlin that Camelot would soon be a great Kingdom, with a great King. And Merlin could see it happening, despite everything, he saw a great King sitting beside a future Queen, looking perfectly happy and doing what was right for his Kingdom.

This time yesterday, the future of Camelot seemed very dark and solemn, but now there was a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.

Merlin's smile broadened at this, and he thought the words:

_Long live the King._

* * *

*_I can't remember when exactly Gaius does tell Merlin about the Dragon, despite the fact that he already knew, but we'll just pretend he's already been told! (:_


	22. Merlin and Arthur

_Wow, over 100 reviews! Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed my story so far! You're all officially awesome! :D_

_This chapter is a little short, but I hope you like it anyway (:_

Chapter 22 – Merlin and Arthur

The night and following morning dragged on slowly, like a traveller wading through thick marshlands. It had been announced to everyone that there would be no more earthquakes and no more replicas, and the great sigh of relief was probably heard for miles around. But Camelot's troubles were not yet over.

By the afternoon of the next day, the whole of the castle had been searched for survivors. Every single room and corridor had been cleared of the worst of the rubble and then searched for any victims. The only room that they had been told not to search was the King's chamber. Slowly, the only things that could be found were corpses. Arthur was advised to end the search and rescue, there was no need to search the whole castle again, but there was one thing that prevented him from making a decision:

Morgana was still missing.

Was it possible that she could have escaped the castle? But why hadn't she come back? Was she still buried under the remaining rubble? Had she been found dead, but no one had the nerve to tell Arthur?

Merlin had been the last person to see Morgana alive, but he didn't tell anyone this, he fell silent whenever the subject turned towards the missing ward, and he tried to shrink into the shadows to avoid being asked questions. He felt a pang of guilt whenever her name was used, but was there anything he could have done to save her?

Fortunately for Merlin, the focus turned away from finding survivors, and instead on helping the victims of the earthquake recover.

The Great Hall had become a make shift hospital, more beds had been made, and more people were trying to help Gaius treat the sick and injured. Untended wounds had become infected for many, but the supply of bandages was still running low. No one said anything, but they all felt themselves descending into panic and despair. The aftermath of the earthquake will take more victims than the actual earthquake itself, and there was a growing feeling that there was little anyone could do to prevent this.

To try and prevent as much panic as possible, when a person died, their body would be carefully removed from the Great Hall as subtly as possible, to avoid many people from noticing. But people did notice, the empty beds were impossible to hide.

This was where Merlin sat now, beside an empty bed, the occupant had died during one of the final aftershocks, and people hadn't even noticed.

Merlin was sitting there, eyes wide yet unseeing and his mind filled with sorrow, because it was Aldwin's empty bed.

Arthur spotted his manservant sitting there silently beside the bed. He sighed, he was needed in many different places, but it looked like beside Merlin was where he needed to be most of all and where he should be.

Merlin broke his unseeing stare when he heard the scraping of wood against the stone floor, and looked up to see Arthur moving a chair next to Merlin's. He sat down beside the manservant with a heavy sigh. Merlin said nothing.

There was a pause.

"I'm sorry about your friend," said Arthur eventually, unsure what to say now he was sitting next to his mourning friend.

Merlin shrugged, he didn't look up at Arthur. "He wasn't even a friend," he muttered. "He was just a guard, a solider, who I met just a few days ago, bleeding on the floor."

_Oh dear, _thought Arthur, trying to hold back another sigh, _talking is going to be harder than I thought._

"So why are you so upset then?" He asked eventually, not meaning to be so blunt, but he was unsure what to say, he wanted to know what was bothering Merlin so much, if he didn't even know Aldwin that well.

"Because he was a good person," Merlin murmured, "and yet I never knew him. Every day he probably stood by a doorway or entrance, and I would just walk right past him, not saying anything, not even looking at him, and everyone else probably did the same. He was friendly and he was still laughing despite the fact his world had fallen apart, I would have liked to have known him better, but I never had the chance, I only had a couple of conversations with him. He was a strong person, but not strong enough to survive his injury." _He probably died alone here, _Merlin thought to himself, but he didn't want to say these words to Arthur, as he was worried it might get too much. _He didn't deserve to die alone without any friends or family, I don't care if he was unconscious, someone should have been there. And yet I left him alone._

"You can't blame yourself for what happened Merlin," Arthur told him in a soft, comforting voice. But Merlin's empty eyes didn't seem to acknowledge these words.

"But he didn't deserve to die," Merlin said, _and he didn't have to, I could have stopped it, _he thought.

There was a pause. Merlin sat there motionless while Arthur glanced around at the Great Hall. Everywhere there were sick people, injured people, people dying, and there was very little they could so. Soon there may well be more people like Aldwin.

Arthur took a deep breath; he was about to say something that was going to go against everything he believed in.

"Can magic cure people?" He asked.

For the first time since Arthur sat down, Merlin turned and looked at his face, eyes wide with surprise at what he had just heard. Had the Prince, and now King, been reading his thoughts? It was Arthur's turn now to avoid eye contact, as if what he had just said had embarrassed him.

"Yes it can," Merlin told him.

"If magic can save lives, it's not such a bad thing…" Arthur muttered. It already had saved lives, it had saved Gwen, had how many times had Merlin cured someone through magic, and yet no one knew?

Merlin couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "Are you saying—"

"You can use magic," Arthur said with another sigh. Was he really going to let this happen?

He glanced at the empty bed that was once Aldwin's. Yes, he was going to do this.

"My father's not here, it won't hurt anyone. I trust you." Arthur added.

Merlin felt a wave of gratefulness, happiness and relief at these words, but his mind suddenly turned to another thing that made these emotions fade away. Had Arthur not yet been told about his father?

Arthur stood up, assuming the conversation to be over by the following silence, and was about to leave, when Merlin spoke.

"Arthur…" Merlin begun, unable to stop himself. Ever since he had decided not to tell Arthur about Uther, it had been weighing down on his mind; it wasn't fair to keep such a thing secret. "Your father—"

"I know," Arthur said before Merlin could finish. He turned back to look at his manservant, his eyes filled with sadness. Arthur was no fool, he had worked out what had happened, he could tell by the way his father had been missing, by the way Gaius had been avoiding him, he could almost sense that something very bad had happened. But his mind couldn't yet accept the fact that his father was dead, and that he was now King. The last couple of days were so surreal, he wondered if the whole thing was just a horrible dream. "But please," his voice was a little firmer, he even sounded angry. "I don't want to talk about it."

Merlin nodded, and with that Arthur walked off, focusing his attention on patients. After a short pause, Merlin followed, looking for some victims he was finally able to cure.


	23. Days

_Another short chapter I'm afraid, and I couldn't think of a very good name for it, if anyone's got a good idea of what to rename this chapter, suggestions would be much appreciated (:_

_Writing the next chapter and therefore updating will be slightly delayed due to my last exam, don't blame me, blame the Psychology exam board! Lol_

Chapter 23 - Days

Over the next few days people began to move out of the Great Hall, and it became less of a hospital. With Merlin's magic, more victims had survived their injuries than was originally expected. At first people were worried and afraid at the sight of magic, that no one was even attempting to cover up, but over time they realised that this mysterious manservant was using magic to help save their friends and families, and fear soon developed into curiosity and acceptance.

Some villagers that had arrived a few days before decided to remain living in the City, aware that there was probably very little left for them back home. However others did return to their villages, and Arthur made sure they were given gold so they could buy themselves food and supplies to help rebuild their lives. The villagers were exceedingly grateful for the new King's generosity; the old King would have never delved into the secret supply of gold underneath the very castle. But Arthur knew that his people needed it.

Those who hadn't left the castle, were now helping to clear away the remaining rubble from the corridors and chambers. It was hard work, but almost everyone got stuck in to help. Arthur's yells could be heard across the whole castle when he caught Sir Leon trying to help clear the rubble, the Knight was sent to bed with a pounding headache due to the hard work and being yelled at.

However, there was a more unpleasant business that had to be done now the aftershocks were over. The last of the bodies were being recovered from the rooms, and there were mass burials for everyone who had lost their lives.

The worst moment was when they recovered the body of Amelia's mother. The little girl clung to her father's leg with an iron grip, screaming and screaming, tears pouring down her cheeks. Whether she was old enough to realise what had truly happened or not, she certainly knew that she would not be seeing her mother for a very long time. Her cries pierced the walls of the castle, and even the people who didn't know her felt her pain.

After the rubble had been moved out of the library, they found Geoffrey's body as well. Merlin would never forget the look on Gaius' face when they brought his friend out on a make-shift stretcher. His expression was as hard as stone and he remained silent, but his eyes said a thousand different things. Merlin asked if there was anything he could do, but he knew there was nothing, he just wanted to break the cold silence.

Uther's funeral, was going to be a little more elaborate than the mass burials of his people. Arthur shut himself in a room with a few of the King's advisers who had survived the earthquake, so they could discuss arrangements for burying the old King. Arthur spent most of it serious and expressionless, but when someone called him 'Your Majesty', he gave them a dark glare that shrunk them into silence for several minutes.

Merlin knew all this was happening because he was the only other person allowed in the room. He couldn't help but be slightly surprised at how much trust Arthur still had in him, now he was aware of his magic. But he was his manservant and friend, and after seeing the miracles that magic had on people so close to death, Arthur seemed to have accepted that Merlin had magic, and was glad of it too.

Arthur knew he should feel more suspicious, but his anger when he had first discovered Merlin's magic had fizzled away, and now he didn't feel any negative emotion towards his friend's magic. Perhaps he knew deep down all along that magic wasn't a bad thing.

The day for Uther's funeral was arranged, and the advisers piled out of the small chamber that they had been crowded in for what felt like hours. Arthur was less hesitant to leave; he hovered behind as he watched everyone else go, thinking about the weight that hung down over his heart.

Merlin, who had been standing in the back corner of the room while the meeting was taking place, walked up to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Merlin asked gently.

There was a pause, where silence hung in the air.

"I don't know," Arthur eventually admitted, his voice quiet and unusually small. "I think I just need some rest now," he mumbled, before walking out the room and disappearing down the corridor.

Merlin left the room as well, but decided not to follow Arthur, the Prince (or rather, King, as Merlin kept on forgetting to call him) probably wanted to be alone and gather his thoughts, anyone else would want to do the same in his situation. And dark rings sat under his eyes, giving away the fact that he was tired and needed some rest.

Instead of leaving like everyone else, Merlin lingered in the corridor, gazing out of the window, only there was no glass, it was just a hole in the wall. A gentle breeze fluttered in as Merlin looked out at the castle grounds. The sun was shining brightly and the day was warm, it seemed to be lifting the spirits of the survivors of the earthquake, trying desperately to look at the hopeful future and not at the devastating past couple of days.

Despite the fact that inside the chamber it had been quiet, noise and life could be heard outside. Merlin looked down at the people strolling across the cracked stone grounds. Some of them were carrying great pieces of stone and timber that had been removed from the castle, others were merely standing around, resting from a day's hard work and enjoying the sun, talking and comforting their friends that were with them.

As Merlin watched, Sir Leon appeared, walking out from the castle into the sun. Merlin briefly wondered if the Knight was allowed to be up and about, but decided it was best not to tell Arthur, or Sir Leon might get in even more trouble. Merlin realised that Sir Leon wasn't alone, beside him was the maid Belle, who hadn't left his side from the moment he had arrived unconscious in the Great Hall. Since that moment, Merlin could tell that Sir Leon was happier than he had ever been, despite the situation that had caused him to finally be with Belle. Merlin smiled as he saw that Sir Leon and Belle were holding hands as they strolled around the castle, soaking up the warm weather before a chilly night set in.

The sight of the couple made Merlin feel sure that things were going to get better for Camelot from now on, especially now that Arthur was King, even though he was finding it difficult to accept.

Despite this thought, Merlin suddenly felt a pang in his heart as he watched Sir Leon and Belle walk by, their hands entwined.

Merlin wasn't sure why, but this sight reminded him of Morgana.


	24. Fighting Practice

Chapter 24 – Fighting Practice

"Come on Merlin, get up! We haven't got all day!"

Merlin groaned as Arthur's angry voice rang through his ears. He managed to struggle to his feet, only having to duck down again when a mace came flying at his head. He had assumed that once Arthur had become King, fighting practice wouldn't be needed any more. Unfortunately, Arthur seemed determined to keep hold of the few normal things that remained in his life, clobbering his manservant with weapons, was one of them.

"Can't we just take a break for…two minutes," Merlin panted, backing away from the young King, who was swinging his mace side to side, as if preparing for another hit.

"No time for a break." Usually Arthur would be saying this with a grin on his face, knowing he was causing mischief and annoyance, but this time his voice was solemn, and his eyes cold and stern. This made Merlin feel concerned. "And I've already given you your break, it's back to work now."

This was true. A few days after they had buried the King, Arthur turned around to Merlin and almost ordered him to leave Camelot. Merlin was surprised to say the least, he thought Arthur had accepted his magic, why did he suddenly have to leave? But it turned out Arthur's reasons were merely out of friendship – he wanted Merlin to go back to his home village and make sure his mother was all right.

"I really don't think there's any need Arthur," Merlin had began, but Arthur was having none of it.

"We don't know how many Kingdoms felt this earth quake, your village could need help, and you need to let your mother know that you're safe." Arthur explained.

Merlin tried to argue some more. Yes he wanted to see his mother, but at the same time he was needed in Camelot, they had only just started rebuilding parts of the castle. But in the end Arthur won the argument, and Merlin ended up spending a week back at home. The village had felt the earthquake, but no real damage had been done, and Merlin's mother was thrilled to see him.

Unfortunately, as soon as he returned, it was back to work, and fighting practice.

"But you could give yourself a break," Merlin pointed out, still panting, as he leaned against the arrow target that had been placed on the grassy hill where fighting practice was taking place.

Arthur shook his head glumly. "I don't want a break," he muttered, now sounding like a spoilt child.

Merlin sighed, "but you've been working so hard the last few weeks! Ruling a Kingdom is one thing, but trying to rebuild it as well! And you've been busy preparing for your coronation. You deserve a break."

Once again, Arthur shook his head. "I can't," he said firmly.

"Why not?" Merlin demanded, wondering why Arthur had suddenly become so grumpy at a suggestion that most people would accept with gladness.

Arthur sighed, avoiding eye contact with Merlin and instead fiddling with his leather glove. "Because if I have a break, I'll just start thinking about…it again."

Merlin stood up straight and looked at Arthur, concerned. For what felt like the first time, he had noticed the unusual stern look in Arthur's features, the dark rings under his eyes and the unseeing weight that he had been carrying on his shoulders. Merlin suddenly felt incredibly foolish, just because the earthquakes were over didn't mean that suffering didn't continue. Arthur's suffering.

"Arthur, What's wrong?" He asked, advancing towards his troubled friend.

Arthur's eyes darted to the ground. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"You've got nothing to worry about Arthur, you're a fit King for Camelot. I know it's only been official for a few weeks, but you've been doing well."

Arthur shook is head, "it's not that."

"Are you having second thoughts about Gwen?" Merlin asked.

"Of course I'm not!" Arthur snapped. He looked surprised by his out burst, and cleared his throat quickly. "Sorry, I mean…everything's fine with Gwen." Arthur had announced to Merlin last week that he was planning to propose to Gwen. Merlin was filled with happiness, knowing that she wouldn't say no, but Arthur was finding his path to eternal happiness with the woman he loved blocked by something he couldn't shift.

Merlin had to admit, apart from that, he could think of nothing else. In his opinion, the Kingdom was prospering. Most of the castle and houses had been rebuilt, which would have taken months to do if it wasn't for the collective determination of the survivors. Sir Leon was now completely cured, and he would often be seen walking around the castle, arm-in-arm with his beloved Belle. Arthur had even made magic legal in the Kingdom and allowed Druids to pass through Camelot, or even stay. This simple decision allowed trade to prosper, and the Druids were sympathetic to Camelot and some were happy to help with any damage that had not yet been fixed. It was a wonderful thing to see that the Druids trusted Arthur, and they were no longer afraid.

But there was something else.

"You can trust me Arthur," Merlin said gently, "you can tell me what's wrong."

There was a pause. Arthur muttered something that Merlin didn't quite hear, and he had to ask for him to repeat it. This time Arthur looked up at him, and his eyes were filled with sadness. No, not sadness, complete devastation.

"We never found Morgana." Arthur said, and his voice shook.

Merlin cursed himself. Of course, what else would Arthur be so worried and upset about? What was everyone worried about but never spoke of?

"Arthur I'm sorry—" he began.

But Arthur shook his head, "no it's all right," he certainly didn't sound all right. "I just…I still think she's hear sometimes, when I'm doing work and getting frustrated, I expect to look up and see her standing there, telling me not to get so grumpy, saying something to make me laugh. But when I look up, there's nothing but an empty door way, and I remember that I'm alone."

"Has this been keeping you awake?" Merlin asked, already knowing the answer. The days exhausted him, so he had little trouble sleeping, but sometimes he saw Morgana in his dreams. Arthur would be no exception.

He nodded. "I keep on thinking if I could have done something to save her from…whatever happened to her. That's why we can't have a break, because whenever I stop, I think, and that's when I think of her."

"You can't blame yourself for what happened Arthur, it's not your fault." Merlin told him gently. _If it's anyone's fault, it's mine, _he thought to himself.

"But I should have done something!" Arthur protested, his voice was cracking like an egg shell being trodden on. He threw down his mace in anger. "I assumed that she would be all right, I thought she would appear in the Great Hall, ready to help, like she always does when there's a disaster. But she never came. We never found her, we didn't even find her body so she could be buried!" Arthur screwed up his eyes as if he was suddenly in pain. As Merlin stepped closer towards his King and friend, he saw a tear trickle down his cheek. But Arthur was trying desperately hard not to cry.

"It's all right Arthur—" Merlin began, reaching forward to offer his friend some comfort.

But Arthur drew away, the sorrow in his face and voice suddenly replaced by anger. "No!" He shouted, "King's don't cry! King's never cry! Kings are meant to be strong. A decent King would have found Morgana by now, but I keep on looking and I can't find her!" Arthur drew his hands up to his face and tried to stifle his sobs as much as he could, but it was impossible to hold in so much frustration and anger and sorrow for such a long time. But he was meant to be a brave Knight, a great King, he shouldn't be sobbing into his hands.

Knowing that there was nothing else to do, Merlin stepped forward and drew Arthur into a tight hug. Every time the King sobbed his whole body seemed to shake, as tears rolled down his cheek before he could stop them. It took all of Merlin's effort not to cry too, they couldn't both cry, they had to support each other in their time of need, and Arthur was in more need than he was.

At first, Arthur didn't even seem to notice that he was in a hug, but after a few moments he put his arms around Merlin's shoulders and hugged him back. He had never felt so weak, he should be furious that a servant was hugging him, but he was glad Merlin was there for him.

Morgana was like a sister to him, and he had lost her.

Arthur's voice was shaking still when he began to speak again. "And Gwen sometimes asks what happened to Morgana, and I can't tell her because I don't know. I can see the look on her face, she feels lost without her best friend and she desperately wants to know what happened to her, but she doesn't want to ask, because she knows that I don't know. I can hear servants as well when I pass them in the corridor, murmuring, 'what happened to Lady Morgana?' and I don't know! As soon as the earth quake started I should have sent people out to find Morgana, but no, I just waited as if she would magically turn up, and of course she didn't."

"But it would have been wrong of you to send people to go and find Morgana," Merlin pointed out, "because when the ground started to shake, everyone was just as important as each other."

There was a pause, and then Arthur drew away. He knew Merlin was right, but he still blamed himself for what happened.

"I'd do anything to bring her back," Arthur admitted, but really there was nothing to admit, everyone felt the same, even if they didn't say it.

Merlin laid a hand on the King's shoulder. "I know, and one day maybe we'll find out what happened to her, but for now all we can do is stay strong, for Morgana, that's what she would want."

Arthur took a deep breath, and nodded. He had stopped crying, but his eyes were still red. He gazed down at the mace resting on the grass. He didn't really need to have fighting practice any more; he was only doing it because it was something to take his mind off Morgana and to release all the anger he felt about letting her down. But now he realised it was unfair to release all that anger on Merlin, and his friends were all thinking the same thing about Morgana. They all wished to do something, and yet there was nothing.

"You know Merlin, I think you're right, we do need a break." Arthur's voice was still solemn, but there was a little more cheer in it now. He had found comfort in his friend.

Merlin smiled, Arthur wasn't so angry with himself any more, and he was relieved that he wouldn't be chased around Camelot with a mace. But he could still see the fear in Morgana's eyes as the ground started to shake, and he had left her. He would never forgive himself for that.

"I think a brisk ride is what I need now, to clear my head." Arthur said.

Merlin groaned, the words 'riding' and 'brisk' in the same sentence was always something he dreaded.

Arthur couldn't help but smile at the annoyance in his friend's face, some things don't change. But for once he could appreciate the sacrifices his friend had made for him, and he was glad that Merlin was beside his side, despite the secrets and lies. _What were secrets and lies next to the bondage of friendship anyway?_ Arthur thought as they strolled towards the stables under the bright, warm sun.

* * *

_This may sound like the end, but it's not quite over…_


	25. Morgana

Chapter 25 – Morgana.

Noise. Everywhere noise as the Earth shook with such power. Such terrifying power. The whole world falling to pieces around her, her own home now about to crush her. No escape this time, darkness was sweeping in. No way out…

Morgana's eyes snapped open.

She gasped, as if she had just been suffocating, as she took in deep lungfulls of air. Maybe it was just shock, surprise that she was still alive.

She was alive, wasn't she? The last thing Morgana remembered was the ground shaking underneath her, as she found herself trapped and screaming. But as she gazed up, she could see blue sky peering out from behind tall trees that surrounded her. A gentle breeze brushed against the hair that lay around her shoulders.

No, something definitely didn't seem right. Perhaps she had died and was now in the afterlife. But something told her that she was still alive.

"Sister."

There came a recognisable voice, so soft and gentle it was barely above a whisper. Morgana thought she could hear worry in the voice. She suddenly realised that she was still lying on the ground on a bed of dry leaves. Quickly she tried to get up, but a gentle hand pressed on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Steady sister. I have healed you as much as I can, but you still might have some injuries. Take your time."

There was definitely no mistaking the voice.

It was Morgause.

Morgana tilted her head slightly, and she saw a cascade of light blond curls, and then a pair of deep brown, caring eyes that could belong to no one else apart from her sister. In any situation she would be smiling, especially at seeing her sister again, but she was finding it difficult, she was still in shock.

"Wh, what happened?" Morgana managed to stutter; still trying to get up despite her sister's warning, but a little slower this time.

Morgause didn't say anything at this second attempt; instead she helped her sister gently up by holding up her shoulders. Morgana was a little stiff from lying on the ground, but she managed to stand normally on two feet, which was always a good sign. However Morgana looked rather pale, more than usual, her eyes were wide and she was shaking a little. Morgause took Morgana's hands in hers, the comfort and sisterly gesture relaxed Morgana a little more.

"What happened?" Morgana repeated, gazing around at the forest in which she was now standing. "Where am I?"

"It's all right," Morgause said softly, "you're safe. I could hear your cries when I felt the ground shake, and realised that you were in trouble. I just managed to rescue you and bring you here before it was too late. I don't know what caused it, but the very earth seems to have turned against Camelot."

Morgana nodded weakly, remembering those horrible moments when she found herself trying to flee the horrible rumbles that shook Camelot.

The memory made Morgana start shaking again, but she managed to calm herself down. She looked deep into her sister's eyes and felt safe. She was with Morgause; everything would be all right. She managed a smile and embraced her sister.

"I was so scared." She whispered into her sister's ear, hating how weak she sounded.

Morgause nodded as they drew away, offering a comforting smile. "But it's all right now, you're safe. I won't let anything bad happen to you, I promise."

Morgana found her smile properly this time, and the sister's hugged again, full of relief that they were both alive and well.

"How long have I been here?" Morgana asked, looking round at the trees once more. She had no idea where she was, but she trusted her sister.

"You were unconscious for a few days, I decided it was best if we stayed out of sight while you were sleeping, I know this is a safe place." Morgause explained.

Morgana nodded again, it seemed the right thing to do, but then another thought came to her mind.

"What about everyone back in Camelot? Won't they be wondering where I've gone?" She asked, suddenly feeling an urge to return back home, despite how much she despised the Kingdom sometimes, but it was _her _home.

However at this question, Morgause's eyes grew sad, and she gazed down at the forest floor. Morgana was immediately worried.

"Sister? What is it? What's wrong?" She asked.

Morgause shifted from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable. "I don't wish to tell you…" She said slowly.

Morgana suddenly found herself worried and annoyed; her sister was not usually like this. She asked again, this time with more severity in her voice. "Morgause, what has happened to Camelot?"

Morgause hesitated, before she spoke: "Camelot and its people are safe, but…I'm sorry sister, it breaks my heart to tell you this. But Camelot doesn't want you any more."

"What?" Morgana didn't understand.

"They've abandoned you, they've…" Morgause hesitated, and she looked pained by the words she was about to say, she still couldn't look at Morgana. "I took you away from Camelot, but not too far. If Uther or Arthur had sent out a search party, they would have managed to find you. But I have heard no word of a search party. The castle was damaged, but not destroyed, they could have spared time and men to go out and find you. And yet I have heard no news about how Camelot feels about the loss of the King's ward. The Kingdom is silent, as if you never existed."

Morgause looked back up at her sister, to see her reaction to such news.

It was a heartbreaking sight; Morgana looked shocked and devastated. She shook her head slowly in disbelief. "No," she said quietly. "No, no! It cannot be. Camelot's my home! They wouldn't leave me! They wouldn't…" And yet Morgause had taught her that Uther was the enemy, and therefore, so was Camelot. Why should it not be that Camelot was enemies with her?

They were probably glad she was gone.

Morgana's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, sister!" Morgause drew her into a slightly tighter embrace. "Do not despair! Camelot does not deserve you! You mustn't be so upset."

But Morgana didn't feel so upset, he felt more…angry.

They drew away again, and Morgana looked up into her sister's eyes. There was a spark in them, one that hadn't been there before. It was a spark of loathing, of excitement, her lips twitched slightly, as if she was trying not to smile.

"But I promise you sister, we will take revenge on Camelot for making you feel so unwanted, for not caring for you." Her voice dripped with malice, but slowly it became more excited. "We have the advantage; they believe you are dead. We can use that against them, manipulate the people who have manipulated you for so many years. I have an army, I have powerful allies. Over time we can bring Camelot to its knees, and the Kingdom will be yours. I have always believed that it belonged to you, I have always believed that you are the rightful ruler of Camelot, and now we shall make that happen. Soon, _they _will be the ones crying."

There was a pause after this, where birds could be heard singing sweetly in the distance, but they seemed miles away.

It was a strange feeling, feeling her heart harden more at every word that Morgause said. Harden against her home, the ones she once loved. Suddenly, it seemed to make sense to Morgana. Camelot had never cared about her; if they did, she would be back in Camelot by now, they have left her for dead. She _would_ be dead if it wasn't for her sister.

Slowly, Morgana nodded. Her eyes narrowed as her love steadily turned to hate and her heart became stone.

She didn't see the smile that crawled onto her sister's face.

Morgana felt glad that she was with her sister. They were together now, and they would never be apart. They will grow in power, and then they would take revenge on the Kingdom and the people who, for so many years, had made Morgana feel so upset and angry and unwanted. One day, Camelot will be theirs.

Because the Great Dragon was right. When the ground shakes, everything will change.

THE END

_:O that's right! That's the end everyone!_

_Aww, I feel really sad now! :( I always do when I finish something!_

_I'd just like to thank everyone who followed this story all the way through, and for all the favourites, alerts and, of course, reviews! You guys rock! ;)_

_By the way I've ended it, it does feel like there could be a sequel, but I don't think there really needs to be, the story will just end up being a lot like series 3 only lacking in Uther! Of course, if I think of a BIG idea to write for a sequel, then I might, but I doubt it, there's no need, I like it just the way it is :)_

_I'd just like to apologise for any mistakes, spelling, grammar or other that may have occurred along the way. I do read through my own work, but some things still slip through the net! I hope you'll understand :)_

_A bit of harmless advertisement before we depart? Why not! :D I've written some other stuff, Merlin and non-Merlin, feel free to have a read of them. I've also just recently written a drunken Merlin one shot to work on my humorous writing. Please have a read of that and tell me what you think! :D_

_Oh and in case anyone was interested, I thought I'd put an update on this story if I ever get any big news about Poppy Girl. Of course it may be a couple of months before I get any _really_ big news, but I've recently heard back from another agent and they want to read more! :D Fingers crossed!_

_So yeah, please tell me if you'd be interested in hearing a Poppy Girl update, and it would be awesome if I got a review, because we've now reached the end of the story, and I'd love to know what you think of it on the whole, and about the chapter, of course! _

_Well, I think that's all I need to say people, apart from thanks for reading, woo for Japan (it's who this story was dedicated to in the first place!) and hope you enjoyed! :)_

_Cheers everyone!_

_Love Naisa._

_x_


	26. AN

AN

Hi everyone!

You're probably wondering why I've suddenly updated this story after about 4 months of silence. Well, you may or may not remember, but I said I would update this when I have any news about my book Poppy Girl, and I have finally returned with some BIG news! :D

So far I haven't had much luck with agents, I have had some asking to read more, and since they only ask a handful of the hundreds of submissions they get to read the rest of it, that's quite an achievement! But other than that, not much has become of it.

However, I have a new plan – someone told me about how some authors, to get their books noticed, have put their stories on the amazon kindle, and for the last few months I have been once again re-editing Poppy Girl and preparing it for the Kindle, and now...

POPPY GIRL IS OFFICIALLY ON THE KINDLE! :D :D

I'm only going to put it up for a couple of months, so hopefully if it sells well on there I can write to agents again telling them of its success and it should give them some more interest and faith in it! :D That's the theory anyway... So your support is despartley needed!

If you're thinking about purchasing my book, it will cost about £2.50 (about $3.50, or around 2.50 euros), you can download the first part of the book for free if you're unsure about buying it, so you can work out if it's your sort of book and worth reading. There's also an advert for it on youtube, so feel free to take a look! :D

You can also download stories onto your computer or iphone if you don't have a Kindle, so there really is no excuse for not giving my book a read ;)

There are links on my profile page to the youtube video, where to buy it etc :)

So, that's my big news, thanks for reading, and thanks to my readers who have supported my work, it means a lot to me :)

I shall update this when I have some more news, thanks again everyone!

Naisa x


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